Saturday Smiles

Hey, what can I say, this is a once in 70,000+ year opportunity!  Time to seize the moments instead of watching them float by...... and this is a fun moment to seize!

365 Days of Giving Thanks - Year 2

Day 9 - Thursday 11/28/13 - Thankful to have family to celebrate this feasting day with....... even if I don't like them some times......

Day 8 - Wednesday 11/27/13 - Thankful for my doctor, who is such a patient, warm, kind, caring, patient human being on top of being an incredible doctor!

Day 7 - Tuesday 11/26/13 - Thankful that today begins a nice, long, 5-day mini-staycation!

Day 6 - Monday 11/25/13 - Grateful for friendship that extends to the far reaches of requests....

Day 5 - Sunday 11/24/13 - Grateful and hopeful that I never have to do this prep again.....

Day 4 - Saturday 11/23/13 - Appreciate the fact that the inch of snow we were supposed to get never arrived....... thanks for the accurate weather prediction!

Day 3 - Friday 11/22/13 -  Grateful for reminders that I am in the right profession.  Today one came in the form of a former student visiting.

PIE

It's Thanksgiving time in the States..... and in my world, that means PIE.

Being a Grown Up

A while back, I posed a question about what it means to be an adult.  While that post didn't generate as many answers as I hoped for....... a recent experience shed a little light on this whole, mystical, "grown up world" that I am so conflicted in regards to my membership.

I had a rather unpleasant "grown up" experience the other day, one in which most adults are supposed to experience once they reach the ripe old age of 50.  I'm not 50 yet.  Nor am I all that close to 50.  But my medical history dictated the need for the nasty test known as a colonoscopy.  Now, the test itself isn't too horrid, but the day before?  The preparation?  It was N-A-S-T-Y.

But I did it.

And I survived.

And while I did NOT enjoy one single part of the whole experience, I knew it was something that needed to be done.

In other words......

I took care of myself.
I acted like a grown up.
Cause one of the requirements of being a grown up is taking care of yourself.

I may have "grown up" in the taking-care-of-my-body department..... which is definitely a positive step........ now.... to learn how to be kind to myself in the process of taking care of my body?  That's a whole different ballgame.... in fact, I don't even think we're on the baseball diamond anymore......

Sigh.................

365 Days of Giving Thanks

Day 2 - Thursday 11/21/13 - So thankful that I have been able to be a positive influence on the 25 kiddos in my class this year, and in past years, the feedback from their parents reminds me that I'm definitely in the right profession!

Day 1 - Wednesday 11/20/13 - Grateful for cupcakes.  Yes, cupcakes.  That's what I had for dinner tonight.  It was that kind of day.

Day 365 - Tuesday 11/19/13 - Appreciating my life experiences these days, as they have helped many of my students...... in many, many ways....

Day 363 - Monday 11/18/13 - Grateful to be a part of an organization so much bigger than me, that is putting together a massive event that will impact thousands of kids and give them memories to last a life time!

Day 362 - Sunday 11/17/13 - So thankful to have the Pup, today, and every day.  He makes my life so much brighter!

Day 361 - Saturday 11/16/13 - Grateful to my dietitian..... I was in such an uncooperative space today, yet, somehow, she made things feel ok.......

Day 360 - Friday 11/15/13 - Very appreciative of words like "homophobes" and "impotent" as spoken from the mouths of my students, who meant to say "homophones" and "important" but are still learning....

365 Days of Giving Thanks

Exactly one year ago today, I decided to jump on the November gratitude bandwagon, with one exception.  I wasn't going to share my gratitude for just the month of November.  Sure, it's a great month to do so, with Thanksgiving and all..... but one month isn't enough for me.

Gratitude is something I'm supposed to be working on every day.  Every day I'm supposed to try to find something that I'm grateful for in my day.  Something that I'm proud of.  Something worth being thankful for.  Ideally, these are supposed to be things I'm proud of myself for participating in, but.... we're still working on that part!

Today marks day 365.  While my weekly list will be posted on Thursday, as usual, I wanted to mark this somewhat momentous occasion.  I also want to encourage those who jump into the gratitude pool in November to consider making it a year-round event....  I know I'll be continuing the tradition!

A Simple Request

Sometimes we have big wishes.  Lots of wants.  Lots of "gimmes."  Lots of desires.

Foster Teen Gets First 'Real' Thanksgiving
With Adoptive Family

I stumbled upon this article on Yahoo News, and was taken aback by a single wish of a young man.

A family.

That's all this 19 year old wanted.

A family.

Kind of makes me appreciate mine, as dysfunctional, twisted, and painful for me to be a part of, at least they want me.

Read the whole article.  You won't regret it.

365 Days of Giving Thanks

Day 359 - Thursday 11/14/13 - Grateful for my students and their innocence.  Today's giggle? "I wonder if he has ammonia like Mrs. Teacher.  She missed two weeks of school because her ammonia was so bad!"

Day 358 - Wednesday 11/13/13 - Thankful for my students and how they inject such personality into everything at school.

Day 357 - Tuesday 11/12/13 - Appreciate the warmth of my down coat.  Makes walking the Pup in the darkness of after dinner a lot more pleasant!

Day 356 - Monday 11/11/13 -Grateful for my therapist's insight, patience, and sense of humor!

Day 355 - Sunday 11/10/13 - Thankful for a day of nothing - or, more positively thankful for a day of relaxation that allowed me to stay home all day.

Day 354 - Saturday 11/9/13 - Had a surprisingly nice evening with "friends" from work!

Day 353 - Friday 11/8/13 - Thankful that dinner with my parents was peaceful tonight, despite the upset stomach I had upon returning home.

Ugh.

I'm struggling again.
Or more likely, still.

I don't want to eat. 
I've once again
conditioned hunger
out of my body.

I, once again
can go all day without food.

This time, though
I don't feel like I'm doing it
on purpose
I'm just not hungry
at all.

I make myself eat
breakfast
lunch
snack
dinner

I just don't want to.

Eating is hard.
Too hard.
Too complicated.

Some live to eat
Some eat to live

I don't want to do either

And yet....
I eat.

Snow, snow, snow?!?

Already?!  On Veteran's Day?  It's too early!

This is what I walked out to this evening.  So not ready for it!

At least it explains why the kids were off the wall today!  There's always that chaos in school the day of the first snow........

Snow, while white and fluffy, and often pretty and sparkly, depresses me.  It means that it's indoor season.  The darkness arrives at dinnertime.  Darkness can be cozy, but when heading into the season of darkness?  Yeah..... it's gonna be an interesting winter!

The Perfect Fall Evening

My Saturday night.

Saturday Smiles

This one's called "Perpetual Emotion" from Shirt Woot.... Kinda fitting for today!

I am a huge fan of Shirt Woot.  I'd say about 60% of my t-shirts are from them. 
What can I say, I do have an odd sense of humor, you know?!

Topic of Conversation?

I had the strangest, yet incredibly inspiring conversation with my students today.

Oddly enough, the conversation topic?  Eczema.

I suffer from eczema, which takes up residence on my face and scalp.  I can hide it pretty well sometimes, but other times, like now, with the seasons changing, it is in a major flare up. 

And I can't hide it.  No matter how hard I try.

So today, as I sat in front of 25 pairs of eyes, and I had white blotches all over my face.... I decided to be honest with them, and head off any odd stares or questions.

"Do I have white stuff all over my face?" I asked them.  They all nodded, rather solemnly, at that.  "I have eczema, which means spots of my skin get all itchy and flaky sometimes.  Today is one of those times.  I know it looks funny, sort of like a clown...." (more nods, and a few giggles,) "but if I'm not careful, it really starts to hurt!  And this morning, I was in such a hurry to get to school, I forgot to put my cream on.  So I put it on just now, and that's what all the white splotches are."

Silence.  I was a little worried.  I've never been that blatant about my eczema before, with anyone (except my treatment team, of course)  And here I was, explaining it to a bunch of 8-9-10 year olds.

A small miracle happened that really made my heart leap just a little bit.  One by one, students started sharing their experiences with eczema.  Some have it themselves, and as one child said "In the winter, I have to put TWO layers of cream all over my body in the morning!"  While another chirped up "My sister has it all over her belly and back, I rub the lotion on for her sometimes."  And another, "I have it all over my hands and arms, and in the winter, it gets so bad it sometimes bleeds!" 

The stories kept coming.  And no one said yuck or gross or eww or anything.  Even when several kids chimed in that they too, experience cracking skin and bleeding when it gets bad.

No one flinched.

For some reason, it felt like a very important conversation to me.  I grew up so ashamed of all my "issues"..... I don't know why, it might have been one that rolled off their backs never to be thought of again..... but deep down, I'm hoping that it showed the kids that sometimes, the things we might not like about our bodies, aren't as bad as we think they are, because we're not alone in our struggles.......

365 Days of Giving Thanks

Day 352 - Thursday 11/7/13 - So grateful that I get to come home to the Pup every day!  It's nice to have someone to come home to.......

Day 351 - Wednesday 11/6/13 - Appreciated the feeling of warmth showering me as I soaked in a long, hot, shower after this dreary day.

Day 350 - Tuesday 11/5/13 - Thankful that a potentially challenging parent meeting went really well this morning!

Day 349 - Monday 11/4/13 - Extremely grateful for my therapist and how well she knows me.  She uncovered a rather interesting pattern today, that provided a lot of insight!

Day 348 - Sunday 11/3/13 - Thankful for my extra hour of sleep!  I took advantage of it, that's for sure!

Day 347 - Saturday 11/2/13 - Grateful for a semi-quiet girls night with my BFF and her two munchkins.

Day 346 - Friday 11/1/13 - Beyond appreciative that my doctor is as attentive as she is.  What other doctor would return my call after 7:00pm?

Two Years Wise!

Two years! 

Can you believe it's been two years? 

(Technically, this is a little late, and it's now been two years and two weeks, but whatev.) 

Two years of (somewhat) regular blogging has really been an adventure for me. Looking back over the posts from..... I've been a lot of places inside these past two years, and not many of them have been sunshine and roses. 

But you know what? That's ok. Cause everywhere I've been, I've learned..... 

And I'm ok with the fact that I still have lots and lots and lots to learn...... 

Thank you friends and followers, for your support on this journey! 

Here's to two more years!

(maybe even more!)

Enlightenment?