Living the Questions

....at least in my life. as of 11:15 this morning, I'm going to back to Jamaica. It's been four years since my last trip. I love that island. And I'm leaving this Friday (I'm still in limbo -- it depends on whether I get a sub or not). Here's how it happened... On Wednesday, I went to jgroup as normal. A lot of our girls are going to Jamaica, and with them leaving in a little over a week, that's all anyone wanted to talk about, which is completely normal. In talking to Alice (another of the leaders -- we meet at her house), I made the comment that I would so be there if I could. Little did I know that that comment would make its way to other ears. The next day, Alice told Nikki, a good friend who is also going to Jamaica (and had mentioned me going a few times before). Nikki apparently then called James, the high school pastor. On Saturday, after I spent some time shopping, I got a call from Nikki, wondering if I had heard from James at all. I hadn't, so Nik...

So, it is really late on Wednesday (for me, anything past 10 is late :)) and I have a lot in front of me to do, yet I am here instead. I've been thinking about school this last week and my wonderful kids....and I wanted to share some things.... 1) My kids are amazing. No matter how frustrating they are or how upset they make me or how often I want to pull my hair out, I love them. I will miss them so much next year. I came to this realization during the writing test, when I had nothing to do but walk around and watch them write (fun, right? the joys of being a teacher....). I love my kids. Each and every one. 2) No matter how much I love them, I mess up A LOT. I hate even admitting this. Today, I came real close to telling one girl she was stupid and real close to using a couple of choice words with another kid. Ugh. I get so upset with myself when this happens, and I owe some kids apologies tomorrow. 3) My kids are convinced I need to be dating someone. Their concern for me is swe...

So, today was art day at school. A whole day (pretty much) filled with art. The theme was Australian.....so everything we did was.....yep, Australian! At first, the idea of losing a day when we have so much to do before the CRCT was really upsetting. We didn't really understand why it was scheduled for before the test, rather than after it. However, after going through today, I am soo glad we had it now. It was such an easy-going day. We made necklaces, listened to Australian music, made boomerangs and got to paint (I'm really quite proud of my koala dot painting!) We had a lot of down time, so we got to do a few things in class... 1) We did one of those "how well can you follow directions" tests. If you've never done one, it's a lot of fun. There are all these directions, like screaming out certain words, random math problems, spinning in circles, counting ceilling tiles, etc. The catch is that you are supposed to read all the instructions first. When you get...

The name of this blog is "beautiful journey" -- chosen simply because I know that our lives are a journey and, when we allow God to control our journeys, simply beautiful. And in the name of being on a journey, my journey has come to a crossroads. In the past, any form of fork in the road would make me completely crazy. I would avoid even thinking about it in any form for a long time, and then would come the time to choose one of the paths. I would feel wrinkled and confused inside, wondering what would happen and agonizing over every possible outcome of each decision. A sign that things in life have changed -- this time, at this crossroads, I'm more ok with the change in plans than I have ever been. Of course, there are things I'm concerned about, things I don't understand, and things I wish I knew. But, this time, there is something different. I'm ok with the "not knowing" stage I'm in right now. God's been teaching me a lot lately about li...

Ok, we went back to work today after a week-long break. I wasn't ready to go back (who ever is, really?), and none of the students were. I love my kids and would do just about anything for them. However, I hate grading and lesson plans -- probably the worst part of the job. I would much rather not really plan anything and just let teaching flow from our experiences and discussions in class. I realize this is a highly utopian type classroom to desire and that some measure of planning is essential in everything we do. But goodness, sometimes I think we are made to plan to an extreme degree. Grading wouldn't be so bad if it weren't so subjective and complicated. You'd think marking a math test would be easy, right? Nope. Partial credit, corrections and retests make it terrible. I spend way more time than I should grading and regrading papers. Also, no matter how objective you try to be, if you know which kid turned in which paper, it's really hard not to let everything...

So, tonight I am going to watch Martian Child, with John Cusack, for the second time this week. I saw it first at JGroup on Wednesday. I was glad to finally be able to see it because I had wanted to see it since it came out. Maybe watching it twice in one week makes me a little strange, but it's a movie that deserves more than one viewing (at least that's my opinion). It's a movie about reaching out to someone who needs a friend. If you haven't seen it, John Cusack plays a science fiction writer who adopts a young boy who is a bit unconventional. Touching, uplifting and inspiring. And it makes you think. What more could you ask for in a movie? Anyway, it makes me want to get out in the world and make a difference in the lives of those who feel as though they "are the oddball who never fits into the group" or the creature from the story. Yes, I am a teacher with the opportunity to impact lives everyday, but movies like this one make me want to do more. I ca...

Not previously a blogger, I started one this summer when I went to Israel (the trip of my life so far....you truly must go one day). Almost a year later, I have decided that I'm going to start keeping up with this once again. And so, here we are. No promises. No guarantees. Just thoughts and stories from the journey God gives me. This past year or so has been one of changes and new beginnings. Graduating college. Summer in Israel. First year as a teacher. Moving home. Building new relationships. It is strange how many things can come and go -- and change -- in the course of a year. I had the opportunity to go to Athens again this week and spend time with some truly missed friends. I love Athens. It is a beautiful place with a great atmosphere that will always hold a special place in my heart. While there this week, I was reminded of how much has changed, yet still, somehow, stayed the same. What is most beautiful to me is that no matter how long it has been or how far apart we are,...