Surprise, Surprise

Surprise, surprise, I failed at blogging again. Let's just be real here, I'll probably never be good at this. I'm glad we can all accept that and move forward.

In other news, I have survived!  I lived through 9 days straight of work!  I taught all last week, with some added stress if I may say so myself. After data team Friday I headed to my old job and spent the weekend with the kiddos. The weekend was drama filled (not surprising at all) but I made it through. I finished out strong through the two day week of evil and have lived to speak of it. I'm so thankful for a break! I woke up at 6:30 thinking of next week's lesson plans, but that's still an hour more sleep than usual.

I'm ready for a few fun days off. I plan on baking and getting a lot of holiday crafting done. I'm making each of the girls matching skirts for Christmas.  I will also be attempting handmade ornaments for each of my students. I hope to have at least 8 done by Sunday night. In my mind, they are going to be adorable. Hopefully it isn't a failure, because I can't think of anything else to do with 20 quilting hoops. I also have to license my new car, which greatly takes away the fun of a new car. Goodbye, nearly one month of pay.

Anywho, yay for break! Better go get it started!

Her 24th Year.

Per facebook friend duty, many people wished me a happy birthday today.  One true friend mentioned she missed catching up on my life through my blog.  So, here I am trying once again to be a semi regular blogger.  The goal had been floating around in my mind for a while, but I had ignored it.  But, I must give the public what it demands.  My goal is one post a week.  We'll see how long that lasts.

I figure an easy place to start is a look back at this year.  This year, my 24th, has been a roller coaster in every single way.  It has had my emotions from extreme highs to extreme lows, I've laughed, cried, thrown fits, screamed, hugged, danced, cheered, and pouted far more than I think I ever have before.

The Highlights--

• I quit my job, of 3.5 years, left my sweet babies, packed up and moved home.  All of this happened over the span of about two weeks.  In someways it was the best way to go about leaving, and in some it was the worst.  I still miss my kids terribly.  I often think about going back and forgetting this teaching business.  I enjoy teaching, but I'm not sure anything can compare to sharing your life with people you love so much.  I truly think it is probably second only to being an actual parent.
• I said goodbye to a regular paycheck for almost 8 months.  That was a terrifying thing.  Sure I worked a little here and there, but it just isn't the same.  I had saved, but not near enough to curb my shopping habit.  The Lord always provided, and it taught me to be wiser in my spending and savings and to truly trust in the Lord to provide what I need.
• I student taught for 8 weeks in Kindergarten and 9 weeks in 3rd grade at my alma mater.  All in all both placements were amazing.  They each had their struggles and their successes.  Being home was easier than I thought it might be, but it quickly became clear teaching at home probably wasn't in my best interest.
• I spent a summer doing nothing.  This may have been one of the hardest things I've ever done.  It came about through total miscommunication, but I thought I would need to be free for school stuff throughout the summer, but that totally wasn't the case.  So I kept my summer plan free, to only never have the things take up time that were supposed to.  It was a bore.
• I said goodbye to my best friend.  Looking back this may have been the hardest part.  Saying goodbye to someone you thought would be in your life forever is in no way easy, and even now the thought brings up some twinges of pain.  I know it was the right thing to do, but it came with a lot of reality.  I learned so much throughout the entirety of that relationship, and I'm thankful it happened, but it was hard.  I still wish him well, it just became clear our love for one another was in no way equal and that God had different plans.
• I said hello to my first teaching position.  I'm still not sure how I feel about this one overall.  There are days where I wonder if I will ever be able to stick with this until I'm 55.  It is hard work.  And it makes me all sorts of sleepy.  There are days where I feel like I'm drowning and there are days I feel like I'm on top of the world.  It is truly a great way to feel like a champ and a nutjob all at the same time.  I'm so thankful for the opportunity to take a large roll in each of my student's lives.  Though many of them will forget just about everything about me before their lives are over, I hope they remember the love, compassion, patience, and care I tried to show them.  I hope they remember how I wanted them to treat other fairly and with dignity.  I hope they remember the manners I taught them.  And I hope they remember the fun we shared.

While that is really not anywhere close to the entirety of my year, it is the major highlights.  I'm looking forward to year 25 mostly.  It truly feels old for some reason.  Probably because I still feel like a 19 year old on the inside.