Until the Sunrise

Sunrise, sunset -

Another day has drifted by...

Except this one flew instead -

Right out of my hands

Reds and pinks painted the sky

As I looked out the 3rd floor window at school -

Downtown was just waking up,

But I had been up for awhile...

Before I could blink

We were already at lunch

Science and Social Studies stations

And then, POOF,

The school bell rang

And it was time to go home.

Progress reports to submit,

Plans for tomorrow to adjust -

Never a dull moment,

Even after the students go home...

But finally we got to leave too -

Thank goodness the drive was smooth.

Off and running at the gym was next -

I am convinced that's the only way

I stay up to date with the news.

And it keeps my mind occupied,

As I'd rather be elsewhere than on a treadmill

A simple dinner and snacks

Were easily prepared when I got back.

And a shower to clean up was good too.

I almost forgot the BCS Championship on TV -

New Orleans looks beautiful all lit up.

And now the dilemma presents itself -

To bed early so that tomorrow I may feel rested?

Or to stay up and watch a favorite TV show

(or the National Championship)?

Hmm...Choices, choices...

Sleep sounds so good...

My mind is already dreaming -

I think I've made my decision.

And so, good night, 

And sleep well...

Until the sunrise.

Relatively Speaking

It's all relative - at least I believe that to be so when speaking about certain things. Take the weather for example. Today I believe we nearly topped out at 50 degrees - a downright rather warm day. However, rewind to this time last year in Phoenix and that very same 50 degrees would have been bloody cold.

Maybe it's the way I'm dressed...

Regardless, it's all in perspective of and preparation for what surrounds us at any given present moment. Something that makes us excited one day may depress us the next one. Students (or co-workers) we spend our days with might be acting a little squirrel-y, but maybe that's more okay than not if there's a full moon out at night. In the "running world," 5 miles may seem like one or it may seem like a marathon - all depending, of course, on how training has been up until the present.

Preparation matters. Perspective counts. It's all relative.

So, let's try to remember that.


(Oh, and heads up -  it's a full moon on Monday, in case you were wondering...)

Whatsoever you do...

After a string of late nights (one due to a friend's visit but the others due to sheer stupidity) this past week, the last thing that I wanted to hear was my alarm clock going off at 7 this morning.

But it did. And I got up. I had somewhere to be...

Back in December, I had seen postings in some of the local Church bulletins and young adult listserv emails about a Minister of Care program - its purpose is to visit and give the Eucharist to people in the hospital or at different facilities in the downtown area. I had met with the director of the program before Christmas break, and she had set up a date (today) for me to shadow one of the "veteran" ministers.

When I got to the hospital, I was greeted by Jack (a gentleman in his late 60s, I'd guess) who warmly shook my hand and then proceeded to show me "the most important place in the building" - the cafeteria. Over a cup of coffee, Jack told me a little about himself, and I did likewise. (Although, I have to admit, he is quite a talker, so I did more of the listening.) He has been doing the ministry at that hospital for about three years.

Then, it was time to learn the ropes. He showed me how to check in, prepare the blessed hosts, and figure out what rooms to visit. (Today we were only assigned to 2 floors.)

On our "rounds," we met people of varying illnesses and attitudes. Most patients were optimistic, and they were enthusiastic to receive the body of Christ. I mainly observed as Jack did the prayers and gave the Eucharist. Even though he told me to "do as I say not as I do", I realized that he is well-suited for the ministry and I could learn a lot.

After introducing ourselves to the woman in the last room, she spoke to us about a priest who would be coming to visit at some point this weekend. When she said his name, it didn't take me long to realize that she was talking about the pastor of the Church associated with the school where I teach. It turns out she is the grandmother of one of the students in the other fourth grade classroom at the school. What a small world! She remarked that she couldn't wait to tell her granddaughter about how she had seen me at the hospital.

Overall, it was quite a good experience and one which I believe I would like to pursue. I will probably never see any of the patients I visited today again (except maybe the grandma of the student at my school), but it was a blessing to interact with them today.

It's true that it ended up taking about 3 hours of my morning (including travel time), but those were 3 hours well spent.

Time for a break

Take a break.

Sometimes, it's as simple as that.

When we're all wrapped up in an activity and the feelings of a moment, maybe it's time to take a step away before we do or say something we shouldn't. (Think the latest Snickers commercials.)

I'll be the first to admit I need to remember this small piece of advice, especially in the classroom. There are days when it is so easy to be frustrated by students' chit-chatting, indifference, trips to la-la land, or repeated inability to get a problem (even when the answer is staring them right in the face). And, at these times, I'm positive my blood pressure rises right alongside my agitation and lack of patience.

Am I going to say or do something I'll regret? Probably...but that will be less likely if I step back and try again later with a new perspective or refreshed attitude (and maybe even some divine inspiration).

See - it's not a bad thing to take a break. In fact, it is something I think we should all try to do a little more often.

180

Before I even got out of bed, I realized I had already woken up on the wrong side of it - I was cranky, and I hit the snooze button 3 times. It was not looking up to be a very good day.

But how fast things change. Despite the cold weather (OK, I confess I wore my long johns today) and rather rough start to the morning, we had a most cheerful (and busy!) day inside:

The students were hard at work on some independent reading of short stories to kick off our realistic fiction literature circle unit...


My religion group had a rather deep conversation about Jesus' death on the cross and the forgiveness of our sins...


We learned about estimating a range for 2x2-digit numbers...


Students applied new Powerpoint knowledge to create a slideshow about products, prices, and the economy...


Taking turns, students conferenced with us about their saint projects (which are nearly complete!). They also nicely took turns on the classroom computers, as they typed their fiction writing stories...


And, to cap it all off, I left work at 4:30 today - it was still light outside! The gym wasn't too crowded, and I feel like I accomplished a few school- (and not school-) related things when I got home.

I like days that take a 180 towards the better.

Pretty darn good.

Yes indeed.

This Year...

This year, I resolve to...

Don't you just love it when the answer is just staring you in the face? 

Sounds like a pretty good resolution, doesn't it? 

Have you thought about those resolutions yet?...

Cheers to the New Year

The bell will ring tomorrow morning at 7:35. But I highly doubt that my mind will be ready to be back at school. I'll wager that the students won't be quite ready either.

2011 was a very memorable one for me, filled with plenty of ups and downs. It's good to spend some time thinking back over the year, so I hope you've taken time to do likewise.

January 2, 2012 - how did you get here so fast? Does this mean I actually have to make those resolutions now? (The list could go on forever - I mean, there's a lot I need to work on.) But I guess I do need to get on that - baby steps. Yep.

Cheers to the years behind us and to the ones that lie ahead. I wish you and your loved ones all the best in 2012. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to see what 2012 holds in store...