madeline types

lord, child, this year has already left me spinning so badly i almost don’t even want to lay it out for you. alas, i suppose i should anyway. that’s what blogging is all about, right? 

i started my new job, got dumped, and was offered a different, higher paying position in my school within the first three weeks of the month. like i said - spinning. in my new position, which i gladly accepted, i facilitate distance learning classes for high school students (online/video conference classes). another part of my job is doing library once a week with all 11 elementary classes (kindergarten - 5th grade). thus far it’s been an incredible learning experience. i couldn’t have predicted being in this type of position but i’m so thankful to have been offered the job. sometimes you get an unexpected chance to shine; i’m taking this as mine. 

as a future secondary teacher, to say i was apprehensive about working with elementary students was an understatement. for years i’ve simply said “i don’t do elementary,” and i’ve meant it. but in the last four weeks, i’ve begun realizing the charm these little ones have. that’s not to say, obviously, that i’ve changed my mind about becoming a secondary teacher - but i’ve started to have a better understanding of those teachers who do choose the elementary path. elementary teaching is a hard, hard job - the tattling, the snotty noses, the potty accidents, and everything else that goes along with it - it’s not for me in a long-term teaching sense. but i’m enjoying having the opportunity to learn more about these students. i really am. 

rarely do i use the term “blessed,” but at this moment in time, i feel that’s a good way to describe it. lucky, blessed, fortunate…i feel all those things when i think about my job. and that is something i have truly never been able to say. 

Christmas came in with a vengeance this year, y’all. It was difficult for a lot of people because of the weather, but for our family, this holiday season was especially tough.  With Mimi still in the rehabilitation center, none of us have really known how to behave without her around to orchestrate us. What are we doing? What are we eating? We’ve never really had to answer those questions for ourselves. Mimi’s always been the planner. But now she’s different and everything is different and everyone was a little out of sorts. In fact I witnessed her completely lose it for the first time in my life. Almost a total melt down. But who can blame her? Life is so completely unrecognizable for her right now. Despite how weird it might have felt at times, I enjoyed seeing my family, as I always do. I spent some time in south Arkansas with some other lovely folks as well. But let’s be honest, no matter the circumstances, the holidays stress people out and I’m always glad to see them go. Time to get back to reality. But mostly, just time to get back home.  

This year I’m jumping right in. Last semester was busy, don’t get me wrong, but it was slow at times and did a number on my bank account since I only worked part time. So I started searching for something different, full time, and school/teaching-related. And I got a fantastic opportunity to tutor full time this semester at a local charter school. Official title is “literacy tutor.” Kind of fancy-sounding, right? But for the first two weeks I’m actually covering a real-live English class until their new teacher starts. I have no clue what to expect, but the administrators have made me feel at ease and I’m excited to get some true classroom experience, even if it’s only for two weeks. It’ll be fun, I think—I hope!

I also moved last month. No big deal. Just a different apartment across town. It was a pain in the rear and doesn’t quite feel like home just yet but I’ll get there, probably around the time I move again (this summer). Sometimes I feel like a nomad, for real. It broke my heart to give up my own place, but at this point in time, I’m all about doing “what’s best for me.” Step one was finding a roommate, step two was finding a better-paying job. Check, check. Step three might be selling my Jeep (the biggest heart-breaker of all). The jury’s still out on that.

Big changes in 2013, y’all. 

I’m a little behind, y’all. You won’t hold it against me, will you? Anywho, the semester is drawing to a close. I am so proud of surviving my first 3 graduate classes. Each of them has been enjoyable in its own right and I truly feel like I’ve learned a lot about becoming a teacher. The experiences so far have increased my enthusiasm about this career choice but have also made me aware of the overwhelming task that is teaching. It is gonna be a wild ride. No doubt about that. Finals are in three weeks. Christmas break cannot happen soon enough. 

Otherwise, I’ve just been so happy with things. President Obama was re-elected (even though the Republicans are still having a hard time accepting it, it’s true!) and my honey and I are getting along wonderfully. He has met the very important members of my family (I’m meeting his at Thanksgiving). Now we’ve just got to get around to him meeting the other very important members of my life: my friends. Most of them are scattered across the country, though, so that won’t be an easy thing. It might take years. But the point is things could not possibly be better where he and I are concerned. Sometimes I have to pinch myself. I feel so incredibly lucky when I think about the fact that he and I could have never met. But now that we’re here, I cannot imagine the alternative. Oh, and sweetie, if you’re reading this, happy early birthday. :) 

Some unhappy news (because it can’t all be good): My grandmother suffered a stroke in October. She is now in a rehabilitation center receiving speech, physical, and occupational therapy. She is showing progress, albeit very slow-going. It breaks my heart to know that she will never be quite the same. But we’re hoping for the fullest, most successful recovery possible. It’s just going to take some time. 

Sometimes you wonder why you do things. At least I do. Last year, even though it’s something I had never done before, I decided to go to my grandparents’ house early during the holidays and help my grandmother make dinner for the family. Her rheumatoid arthritis keeps her from doing things like this with any ease at all. So I stood there in her kitchen with her, went from jar to jar, from casserole dish to casserole dish, from oven to stove top and back again, following her each and every instruction to get this dinner prepared. It took a long time, and even though I knew I could have done it faster by myself, it was clear it meant something to her to still be able to orchestrate this meal in some small way, even if it just meant issuing orders to her granddaughter. I laughed at times, I rolled my eyes at others. We got it done, and when the holidays were over and gone, she and my grandfather told me how much it meant to them to have me there, not only to help make dinner, but to just spend time with them. Like I said, sometimes you wonder why you do things. I had never really done that before last year, but something told me to, so I did. And this year, I realize it’s something I may never get to do again with her. It makes me sad, but it also makes me thankful for whatever universal energy drove me to their house last year to ensure we shared that experience together at least once in our lives. 

this is happens when you open a new tab in google chrome.

The heat is relenting (if only a little, and if only sometimes), the cool(er) breezes are happening more frequently, and the sunrises/sets are getting gorgeous. Just a few tiny reasons why fall is undoubtedly my favorite season, despite its southern shortness down here. I’ll take it. I’m ready for sweaters and a legitimate reason to wear boots and scarves.

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