The Honeymoon Period

for teaching is over. But I still love it, and have determined if I were to need to do this for the rest of my life I absolutely could, and I would enjoy it. Here are the reasons I still love teaching after three years:

1- I pray to.

2- I have learned to be determined to enjoy it. Happiness in one's situation is often a choice.

3- I have leanred that when things seem the hardest, that is when you put in more effort and you are promptly rewarded. Things you put a lot of work into are rewarding.

4- Do the little fun things that seem like an annoyance, but make your job interesting. I say yes to crazy spirit assemblies, to judging the FFA, to writing recommendations and seeing school plays. These are the memorable things that make for quirky memories and halarious experiences.

5- I enjoy the kids, I really, really do.

6- Find joy in the little successes; when an F student becomes a D- student, when a "bad kid" loves your class and adds back into it. When you are that crazy student's favorite teacher, when you have the opportunity to show a little compassion by listening, and you do it.

7-Play as hard as you work.

These are the reasons I love teaching, even now that the gloss and glitter has worn off. What is underneath is a little more tattered, but a lot more loved.

The Winter Blues

Anyone other than me have them yet? No motivation. No desire to go to work, or be productive in general. I am doing all my New Year's Resolutions, hence I am missing yummy food and I want chocholate every single minute and am already tired of making my bed everyday before I go to work! I'm tired of the grind, and we have too-much-snow. The daily grind feels like a grind. Did I mention we have too much snow? It's cold! Okay, that's my rant for the day. "The sun will come up...tomorrow....bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow...there will be sun." Pooh. Can I go back to my lovely vacation? Maybe two weeks off is a little too long because it throws off my grove. Oh, well, vacation is always worth it! Well, back to grading papers.

Crafty.

So, my mom's fallback is always--"Well, you can teach!" whenever I ruin a pie or mess up a sewing project or the like. I ruin something, or don't follow the directions properly, and I say, "I can't cook!" And that is where she supplies the "But you can teach!" And well, I don't think that is necessarily a consolation. I want to be able to follow directions, but something inside of me just messes up every time! Well I always vow not to try to make another home-making-project or try a receipe. Alas, I fail at my resolution to not try again. I want to be able to make cool things I see other people make or I see in magazines. I have the itch to make something cool, so this Christmas I attempted to make a Christmas Tree Skirt! I think it looks pretty cute, but you are seeing the super re-done-by-mom version. And when I say super-re-done-by-mom-version, I MEAN IT. I should probably just say my mom made it, with a few cutting and a few need-to-use-the-seam-ripper inserts by me.