Month 2, Day 1...First Things First...

First things first...

My firstborn, who I at times (like all mothers) feel was born last week, is in the narrowing down process for colleges...and this pretty much consumes me- between financial aid applications and scholarship applications and getting taxes completed to qualify for this and that and visiting schools (logged 900 miles these past two days)...my first things first priority is helping her through the process, knowing when to guide, when to let her decide, or when to just tell her...learning to and accepting I have to let go a whole lot, and to not lose focus on the rest our family and our life at home.  

Habit...Day 29

habit

wake up and brush teeth

shower, make-up, dressed and down

coffee, catch up, go

"Family Secret"- Day 25

We always you that you were adopted from the Daisy Hill Baby Farm in Florida.  Ok- truthfully- that might have been Snoopy who was adopted from the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm in Somewhere, USA. You actually arrived in a spaceship of sorts with some green little dude named Gazoo, but we didn't want to freak you out.  Love you and hope you have a great birthday today!

"Muse"- Day 24 (ok yes, I know that was yesterday, but this was in my head at least)

Muse(s)

They think I have it

They force me to keep learning

I love new teachers

"Look Up"- Day 20

"Look Up"

This group probably has no idea how I look up to each of them and the challenges they have endured or overcome to land where they are today.  They are my incredible siblings and cousins.  Divorces, special needs children,  teenagers, medical and law schools and the subsequent loans, psychological issues, gay and lesbian acceptance, master's degrees, marriages, miscarriages, layoffs, furloughs, 15 children and four stepchildren, a life ending and changing car accident, the absence of one of us from a tragic death, successful businesses, political activists, caring for aging and ailing parents, waking up and going forward on days when you just don't think you can.  Never settling, always reflecting, always growing.  Looking up to our own parents for advice and models, realizing we need to be that for our own children.

I have to say that Facebook has been great if for no other reason than to see my "NC family," regardless of where they live now, every day.  It lessens the miles and grows the connections and has helped us to get to to know each other as adults.  I look up to each of them for the challenges they have faced, whether by choice or not, and the ways they have grown and endured.  It will be up to us to carry on Grandma's dream...I know we can do it! Peace and love xoxo.

Day 19- "Makes You Smile"

The pictures say it all about what makes me smile...the many times our kids have their priorities straight.  Leaving early the first day of school to make sure your little bro finds his classes on his first day of high school.  Stopping by a Light the Night Walk dressed for homecoming just to show support, when you could have been at dinner with your friends.  Taking the weekend to visit NC to check in with extended family, and relishing in that relationship and it's importance.  Giving up your Saturday night to spend time with grandparents, or being flexible with a concert so that your brother can go, cancer or not.  Spending the afternoon with your little sister and painting her nails, because he she idolizes you.  They really do put the family first most of the time, and when they don't we do understand - it is never for something frivolous.  That is what makes me smile :).

Frost- Day 6

Timely topic in the mid-Atlantic: FROST.  Tomorrow they are calling for wind chill 15-25 degrees below zero; in my 45 years here that has never happened that I remember.  All of a sudden regular old 34 degree frosty mornings don't look so bad anymore!  To go to school or not?  Some systems have cancelled, some are saying they are open regardless, others are holding TBD in the morning.  Schools in the area have already closed for 2" of snow this year, melted by 10:30 a.m. and everyone out holiday shopping by 11. Twice that a 2-hour delay would have sufficed. Now people are up in arms that we are going in negative weather.  It is January 6 and we will have used all of our "weather emergency" days by tomorrow...and you know what I want to say to these people?  Be grateful you have a good educational system with teachers who will be there ready to greet your children.  Be grateful if you are on social media because it probably means you can read, write, and that you have electricity and money for a device...which probably means you also have a home.  Most likely you are writing this as you prepare or eat dinner of your choice, and if you do get a freebie day off tomorrow you will be snuggled warm in your pjs watching tv, reading, or doing whatever it is you like to do. Many will probably even be out and about.  You won't be lined up for food somewhere, or hoping there is a room at the shelter and being told no.  Yes, it will suck to go out in that weather, but I bet everyone complaining has their choice of warm clothing and the option to drive kids to school so they don't have to walk or wait at the bus stop; many probably have the option to just take the day off and keep the kids home.  So, at the risk of sounding preachy, because I know I am being so, take a moment to think about what you have, because I work in a school that is 72% FARMS and I can't say I believe those kids aren't better off in school where there is heat, breakfast, lunch, and teachers who care (& please don't make negative comments about their situation, they didn't put themselves there). Their parents don't have to worry about feeding them with food they don't have or figuring out who will stay with them, and I can tell you often that answer is no one, it is "lock the door until I get home."  I know they don't all have coats, gloves and hats, and if there is one reason I don't want there to be school that is why, because they will have to wait for the bus.   Be grateful if you have a car to scrape frost off of, and a working defroster to help you; you don't have to wait at a bus stop to get to a minimal wage job because your family depends on you. I promise you that a day will come that you will wish your biggest problem was horrific wind chill.  I love a day off no less than everyone else, but sometimes you just need to dress warm, suck it up, and smile sunshine to all those around you.  Wishing you peace, love and somewhere warm to spend the day tomorrow!

Photo from bing images.

Something New...

Write ALM...Day 2...let's revert back to January 2 for this one..."something new"...starting with a quote from Frank Lloyd Wright: "Think simple" as my old master used to say -meaning reduce the whole of its parts into the simplest terms, getting back to first principles." This is the way I have been thinking lately, and my quest this year is to set myself up for something new.  I have made some steps to hopefully lead to a career shift,  not a full change, just a shift, but one that will take me back to the simple things in life I hold dearest to my heart and beliefs, and that will hopefully allow me to go back to why I started teaching in the first place.  I've got to get back to passion in my work, and while it isn't gone, it isn't 100%, and that is just not good enough.  I literally broke it down into my mind as to what my passions are, and from there began taking positive steps to turn that into my career.  Scary? Absolutely.  Excited?  Beyond words.  Biggest challenge?  Finding someone who believes in me the way I believe in myself, as shifting within the politics of school systems isn't easy.  If it all comes together then by August my something new will be challenging me to use my passions every single day, and I cannot ask for more than that.

photo from Google Images