A three day work week? It sounds like a dream come true.
And it has been...almost...
Can we just subtract all the chattiness?
Honestly, it's great to be back with the kiddos - I was even beginning to miss them. (Yes, I even missed 8th grade.) But my goodness, I think some of them are just go-go-go...and I don't know if they even realize they are talking.
And coming back from a break, where I am pretty sure they talked to their parents, aunts/uncles, and other adults more like they were peers than adults, it's taken a few reminders to get them back in the whole respect for teachers (and each other) mode...but we're getting there. Today was definitely better than yesterday in that regard, so I have high hopes for tomorrow...even though it is a Friday...
I know I've said this before, but those snow days were clutch (for mental & emotional sanity). There's nothing like curling up on a Monday (and Tuesday) with some coffee, a quilt, and a good book (or whatever your chosen activity may be) when you would normally be at school. It was very refreshing.
But it's also refreshing to be back on a schedule. I was asleep by 9 p.m. last night, so even 5:20 a.m. didn't seem so bad this morning - in fact, I felt refreshed. (Yes, I have decided sleep is good, so I will try not to sacrifice it this year...as much as I am able.) And, hey, even 25 degrees felt warm - I managed my drive from school to home without even wearing a hat or gloves. (I'm not recommending that to anyone - I'm just lazy sometimes...and it wasn't that far.)
Well, in looking ahead, this weekend promises to be a memorable one - and for now, that's where I am keeping my eyes. Love me some Michigan State basketball! Let's go Spartans!
Showing posts with label coffee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coffee. Show all posts
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Monday, September 10, 2012
What the Weekend Taught Me
I sat down (well, in all honesty, I had already been sitting most of the evening) to compose a post for this blog last night, and I came up empty.
It's not because I haven't been doing anything - it's quite the opposite - I've been super busy: ACE Advocates gathering/party, my school's family run event, Ministry of Care at the hospital, local art fair, ND "game watch," trip to the grocery store, long run, my sister's school's Reventon ("explosion!") celebration, lesson planning...
You get the idea.
But, again, there should be some inspiration there somewhere...
In looking back over the weekend, a few things stand out to me -
1) Volunteering and ministering to others makes my heart happy. (The fall weather helps too.) I wasn't sure that I wanted to get up so early on a Saturday morning if I wasn't running for my own benefit, but I'm so glad I decided to go to my school's running event. It was a mere 1K (for the little kids) and 3K (for the older kids and parents), but, more importantly, it was an opportunity to see the students outside of school and to see everyone coming together to share in a good time to support the school. The fact that I followed this volunteer opportunity with my MOC duties really cemented this realization (#1) in my head (and heart). For some reason, everyone I visited at the hospital this weekend was so full of joy - maybe it's because they all had visitors - but I can honestly say that I've never had a more pleasant experience doing MOC. Wow.
2) Running along the lakefront path is a wonderful sort of therapy, where staying in shape, socializing, and relieving stress meet. I can't say that I always enjoy waking up before 7 a.m. on a weekend day, but for running along the path with my sister, it is worth it. The weather was just perfect, and it's always motivating (and more fun) to run with someone else. And maybe I can convince this someone else (ahem, ahem) to do another marathon in the (somewhat) near future...
3) My brain was not built to function in the early morning hours before I've had my cup of coffee, nor was it built to function in the later hours of a Sunday night. So, on Saturday morning, while volunteering at my school (see #1), one of the parents yelled out as she passed me that my co-teacher had come too. I had not yet seen her that morning, so I wanted to make sure I saw her before I left. After the race, I was talking to my roommate (who also teaches at the school) and another woman (who was actually my co-teacher - but I didn't recognize her due to her sunglasses, hat, etc.), and I remarked that I had to find my co-teacher. Both women turned and looked at me in disbelief - she was standing right there and we had been talking for 5 minutes. (Ah! I was so embarrassed.) So that's proof in the pudding, as they say, that coffee is a must in the mornings before doing anything that requires brain functioning. On a related note, there should be a cut-off time for my brain at night, especially on Sundays, because I'm pretty sure it shuts down and I make comments in emails and such that don't really make sense or are not as coherent as they would have been, say, 2 hours earlier.
I am pretty sure I learned a few other things this weekend too. However, it's just about that time to head out for school, so those thoughts will have to wait.
Happy Monday!
It's not because I haven't been doing anything - it's quite the opposite - I've been super busy: ACE Advocates gathering/party, my school's family run event, Ministry of Care at the hospital, local art fair, ND "game watch," trip to the grocery store, long run, my sister's school's Reventon ("explosion!") celebration, lesson planning...
You get the idea.
But, again, there should be some inspiration there somewhere...
In looking back over the weekend, a few things stand out to me -
1) Volunteering and ministering to others makes my heart happy. (The fall weather helps too.) I wasn't sure that I wanted to get up so early on a Saturday morning if I wasn't running for my own benefit, but I'm so glad I decided to go to my school's running event. It was a mere 1K (for the little kids) and 3K (for the older kids and parents), but, more importantly, it was an opportunity to see the students outside of school and to see everyone coming together to share in a good time to support the school. The fact that I followed this volunteer opportunity with my MOC duties really cemented this realization (#1) in my head (and heart). For some reason, everyone I visited at the hospital this weekend was so full of joy - maybe it's because they all had visitors - but I can honestly say that I've never had a more pleasant experience doing MOC. Wow.
2) Running along the lakefront path is a wonderful sort of therapy, where staying in shape, socializing, and relieving stress meet. I can't say that I always enjoy waking up before 7 a.m. on a weekend day, but for running along the path with my sister, it is worth it. The weather was just perfect, and it's always motivating (and more fun) to run with someone else. And maybe I can convince this someone else (ahem, ahem) to do another marathon in the (somewhat) near future...
3) My brain was not built to function in the early morning hours before I've had my cup of coffee, nor was it built to function in the later hours of a Sunday night. So, on Saturday morning, while volunteering at my school (see #1), one of the parents yelled out as she passed me that my co-teacher had come too. I had not yet seen her that morning, so I wanted to make sure I saw her before I left. After the race, I was talking to my roommate (who also teaches at the school) and another woman (who was actually my co-teacher - but I didn't recognize her due to her sunglasses, hat, etc.), and I remarked that I had to find my co-teacher. Both women turned and looked at me in disbelief - she was standing right there and we had been talking for 5 minutes. (Ah! I was so embarrassed.) So that's proof in the pudding, as they say, that coffee is a must in the mornings before doing anything that requires brain functioning. On a related note, there should be a cut-off time for my brain at night, especially on Sundays, because I'm pretty sure it shuts down and I make comments in emails and such that don't really make sense or are not as coherent as they would have been, say, 2 hours earlier.
I am pretty sure I learned a few other things this weekend too. However, it's just about that time to head out for school, so those thoughts will have to wait.
Happy Monday!
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