Traditions and Superstitions…

I am crazy!  Seriously.

Ok, no I’m not… but when it comes to baseball and it comes to the Cubs I make myself one of those crazy, superstitious people.

Rules:

1.  Noelle MUST wear something Cubs on the day of a playoff game.  MUST.
2. If they win or do well when I’m not watching, I’m not allowed to watch.

And last night they lost, so I woke up feeling like there’s something I need to change, like me not doing something prevented their win.  Crazy, right?

I posted something after Jake’s homerun, I shouldn’t have.  That’s bad luck.

We’re up 2-1, we’re up 2-1.  I have to keep reminding myself.

This week has brought much excitement to the life of a Cubs fan.  But it’s also brought some anxiety.  I go from feeling like throwing up to i.can’t.wait.for.the.game.tonight.we’re.gonna.do.this.

October, we don’t make it here often.  Usually, we’re fearful that something will go wrong.  Maybe Cubs fans are realists.  We’ve lived the reality of baseball so many times, that the fear and excitement go hand-in-hand.  The tradition behind the curse, the goat, Cubs baseball…  it’s ever present in our minds.

So until tonight, I will feel the anxiety… and if we move forward, it will continue to control my mind.

Thank your moms

Yesterday, I sat…  watching the boys warm up for their volleyball game.  Rachael and I sat discussing kids and of course I brought up Noelle.

She has her first cold of the school year.  Of course.  She’s freshly back in school, being surrounded by germs that she hasn’t been around all summer.

The boogers are flowing.  And as anyone who has had an almost-two-year-old will tell you, they are not very accommodating when it comes to having noses wiped.  It’s pretty much the end of their world.

So when she sneezed at one point we had the river flowing.  So to salvage the furniture, and Noelle (who had a minor freak out over boogers on her face) I ran over and caught the boogers.  Yes, people of the world who don’t have kids, it is true–  moms do gross things like catch their kids’ boogers.

So, I was thinking about how true it is when they say that you’re a parent, you have to do some pretty disgusting things.  As Rachael and I were sitting there (with a couple of 7th grade girls), I informed them all that they needed to go home and thank their moms for catching all of their boogers.

Spring Break

It’s such a tease.

I was at home with my daughter.   Just watching her learn and grow, saying new things, making new animal noises.  I loved every minute of it.

We spent a day at The Little Red Schoolhouse– watched the turtles swimming, watched a crow fly and squawk, played with a giant box of sticks.

We went to the zoo and she was up close and personal with the monkeys (her new favorite animal sound to make)!

But most of it was snow.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Spring Break– in April– was the Spring Break of snow.  It snowed on us as we were walking outside at the zoo.  We had whirlwinds of snow, big giant flakes falling from the sky.  So, Noelle and I would sit by the window, gazing outside looking at the snow.

It was all a tease– Spring Break.  No warm weather, no reminder that summer will soon be here.  But Noelle helped me remember.  That soon I would be home with her for a few weeks, watching her learn all new things.  Making animal noises, kicking around in the pool, playing outside and learning all about words in nature, along with experiencing them.

Soon enough, I will be able to do these things with her.

Where we are from

Becomes a piece of us.

Not all of us, it doesn’t define us, but it makes up a part of WHO we are and WHO we become.

I am a girl from a blue collar family, with a dad who had to work hard to provide for his children and a mom who stayed home to be with us all.

I am a girl who is the oldest of four children, who has always had this need to take care of others.

I am a girl who had a job at a young age.  That is how I had to pay for things–  clothes, shoes, time with friends.  This money had to come from my own pocket.

I am a girl whose family didn’t have a lot of money.  I watched my dad work hard, I watched my mom go back to work, I watched my dad be laid off from jobs.

I am a girl who paid her way through college.  (And is still paying her way through college)

I am a girl who appreciated the little things–  like time with my family, being outside in nature, reading a book.

And now, I work hard, because it’s what I’ve learned.

I am a woman who has learned the value of family, who has learned the value of working hard for what you desire in life.

I am a woman, who has been able to work hard, and earn the things that I want and need.

I am a woman, who works with the kids of where I came from.

I am a woman, who wants them to know that when you put in the effort, the work, the time–  you create wonderful things for yourself.

You never LOSE where you are from.  It helps you grow.  It helps you BE something.  You just have to choose what that something is, and own it.

The bumps and bruises.

It’s been a rough few days in our house. A teething toddler whose canines are coming in is not pleasant. (Seriously canines are awful and take forever to come in. Ugh). 

She has a cold to top it all off. Coughing and boogers galore. But then she started waking up really crying a sad, hurt little girl cry. And tugging her ear. Ear ache?  Please no. 

And then, her first big accident. She was playing on the couch with my husband and fell off onto the floor. I had a very sad girl. Close to bedtime. 

Of course I became one f those crazy moms. I grabbed a flashlight and checked her pupils. I made her go to bed in my arms. I sat awake with her just WATCHING. Was she ok?  Did she have a concussion?  Is she going to be ok?  

I guess we’ve survived the first major bump and bruises.  But believe me, I’m still watching her like a hawk.  

 

Cold swappers

It seems like we’ve had this cold for weeks. 

She had it, then I had it, then we were both not sick, then she had it and now I do. 

We both have coughs and our noses are faucets. Yuck. 

Daddy has been lucky and escaped the snotty nosed madness. The sneezes and Kleenex are reserved for the ladies of the house. 

It would be nice to be well again. And have a normal voice again. 

Pea

It started as sweet pea. Now it’s just pea. Sometimes she’s still Noelle. 

At what age do kids know you’re calling them a nickname and that’s not their real name?

I think this whenever I call her pea. Am I going to confuse her…  Or perhaps I should just stop worrying so much. 

How do we know?

As teachers, I feel we constantly second guess ourselves and grapple with the question–  how do we know?  How do we know our students are learning?  How do we know that our students see us, their teacher, as a person they can trust?  Someone they see as approachable?  Someone they see as a person that welcomes them into their classroom?  HOW DO WE KNOW?

Some days it drives me crazy, but I try to do my best.  I try to make things fun yet show the importance of what we are doing/learning.  I try to garner their creativity and let them know that their beliefs are important.

Yesterday, though, was like a day that I knew everything I was striving for was working…

After school a parent asked to talk to me outside.  So of course, I wondered why and stepped outside to talk with the parent.  She walked up with her oldest daughter, who I had in class four years ago…  and then her younger daughter, now in my eighth grade class met us outside.  They handed me a gift, which is truly one of the most meaningful gifts I’ve ever received.  A signed copy of The Book Thief.

Each of them wrote me a note on a card.  They were more like short letters, and it just made me feel like everything I have been working for is hopefully happening.

“I always feel comfortable with you in your class.  I usually don’t like to participate in my other classes, but I never feel like you are judging me.  It feels like I can freely give my opinions.  I appreciate that, and I believe that you worked to make all of your students feel that way.”

“…you have taught me given me confidence and creativity, and have given me warm memories that I carry with me and can fall back on when I need to.  You are kind, patient, and I know that I can trust you, even four years after having you as a teacher.”

“Thank you for introducing ____________ to The Book Thief.  That book changed her life because she loves it so much.  The book has also brought ____________________ & _____________________  closer because they have such a love and appreciation for it.”

It was one of those moments where you just want to cry and you just feel so appreciated and so loved.  I will cherish this book and what these girls wrote me for the rest of my life.  I will keep working hard to make all of my students feel this way.  I will keep introducing literature that I feel will benefit their lives.

This is why I do what I do.  

Holding onto anger

I have this philosophy in my life that holding onto anger is a waste of time.

It is.  I’d much rather be spending my time being happy…  enjoying moments with my husband and daughter…  with family…  with friends…  with my students.

I don’t hold onto anger.  We have so much energy and time we get to spend in a day.  Why choose this finite time we have here being angry and holding onto that anger?  Why spend our time being with the people that cause this anger?

Now, I’m not saying that I have this perfected and I’m not saying that I never get upset or angry…  but I try not to let it reside in my mind.  Like I said, the anger and frustrations are not worth my time.

This is something I often find myself trying to tell my eighth grade students.  Does it always work?  No.  But if I can relay that message to just some of them, then I’ll feel like I’ve given them something important.

Surprise.

I love to throw surprise parties.

My dad’s may have taken the cake.  We flew his mom in for a 60th surprise party.    He hadn’t seen her for a few years and she had not been up from Florida for about 20 years.  It was a great moment we were able to give him.

Two years later we were planning my mom’s party.  How could we have the same shock value that my dad’s party had?

In truth, we couldn’t.  My mom’s parents live 20 miles away from her.  She sees them numerous times a year.  The best we could hope for was a big bash with great family and friends.

Then, I started thinking…  MAYBE I could find her old friend.  And so I investigated.  I looked through my mom’s Facebook to find her last name.  Then, I stole my mom’s address book and I found her, invitation mailed.  When she responded that she would in fact be there, I was ecstatic.  This would be a small surprise compared to my dad’s, but a surprise none-the-less.

And she was surprised.  I can still hear her screaming–  “Lee, Lee, Lee, Lee!”  Of course, her party surprised her as well, but it was great that two people that had become friends in Kindergarten were able to catch up for a few hours.

I love surprises…  I hope I get to plan another one soon.