A Lifetime of Love

I think Thomas’ graduation was such a special event that it deserves it’s own post with pictures. Enjoy! Before we left for the ceremony Dr. Gallman, one of his favorite teachers John Mugabe, a bright young man who is going to do great things in this world! Gabby and Tatyana- 2 girls from Youth Group who also attended school with Thomas. Both of these girls are beautiful souls and great friends to Thomas.  The Calls- good family friends who are always so supportive of us! His name on the big screen! Receiving his diploma A family from the school purchased fireworks for after the ceremony. It was amazing and such a thoughtful surprise for everyone. It was so touching as these Seniors truly had a memorable graduation ceremony. 

This week brought about a major life event, and truthfully I am still processing it.  My oldest child, Thomas, graduated from high school. He is officially an adult. My parenting journey with him is finished. At this point, I can only offer him advice.  He is fully responsible for the choices he makes, as well as the consequences.   18 summers. That is what we, as parents, are given to influence, mold, discipline, and train our children so that when the time comes, they are responsible, contributing members of society. It is an arduous task that at times seemed not worth the effort. But, looking back, there really isn’t much I would do differently except perhaps cherish the time we had together. While the days were so, so long, the time has passed quickly! I look back at old photos and the memories they invoke seems like they happened just yesterday. Homeschooling Thomas afforded me the gift of time with him, and if nothing else, that alone made the stresses of homeschooling wort

Mother’s Day began SDW9. I woke up to Titus standing next to my bed with a Christmas-themed gift bag full of stuff. He begged me to get up and as I did, I could hear the other kids upstairs with TJ. When they saw Titus downstairs and me following up behind him, they started scolding him for waking me because they weren’t “ready” for me to come up. When I walked upstairs I immediately noticed signs covering quite a bit of wall and furniture space, as well as the counters and doors. They were all uniquely different expressions of basically “Happy Mother’s Day.” Some were written as acrostics, some drawings, and some distinctly bore the words “Happy Mother’s Day.” I had to chuckle because my kids really know me- a lot of the signs made mention of my love of teaching and reading.           My older boys redid a flower bed for me. It had been ripped up years ago to get rid of the scraggly bushes that were trying to grow, but we had never replanted anything in their place. A friend of mine

8 weeks.  I can’t believe it has been 8 WEEKS since social distancing, quarantine, and COVID-19 became such common verbiage in my life. This week brought about a broken air conditioner BUT God was so gracious to provide cooler temperatures outside. It was only miserable in the house one day (inside temp reached 85*), but other than that, we kept the windows open, fans spinning, and time outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. And, thankfully, it was not a terribly expensive repair. Week 8 also brought on Teacher Appreciation Week. I love this week because it affords me an opportunity to sit down and write a note to each of my children’s teachers. This year it was no different, except that my children were unable to hand-deliver their notes and gifts. We boxed up everything and delivered to the front door of the school. They will receive their boxes when they come to the school to pack up for the year. It’s sad, but at least they will know how loved they are! Teacher Appreciation

Full acceptance hit this week. I didn’t cry (very much) and I didn’t get sad; rather, I just reached the point of acceptance. Acceptance that I am not returning to school this year, and neither are my kids. Acceptance that we will be social distancing for a long time. Acceptance that this is our new normal, and our previous normal will never return. I have come to realize that acceptance is a good thing. Acceptance brought peace and calm. It also gave me time to reflect, analyze, and think about changes I want to bring about in my life as a mom, teacher, and friend. I was able to go back and look through photos of my year in my classroom, and seeing my little people brought some BIG smiles; we had such a fun year! Acceptance also forced me to realize that there is no better time than now to pursue my goals. I want to be the best teacher I can, and in order to be that, I need to know more. When you know better, you do better. I enjoy school and learning, and I try to take advan

*Sigh* This week has been mentally challenging. I was officially laid off from my teaching position and began the steps to file for unemployment. That was heartbreaking, and it has nothing to do with money. When I was still being paid, it gave me hope that we might return to school before the end of the school year. However, the moment I received the news, my bubble was burst. On Wednesday afternoon, the governor announced that no one would be returning back to school before the end of the year. That was expected, but again, knowing what my children are feeling makes it difficult to accept. I have been thinking about this a lot, and it seems to me like we are going through the stages of grief (all over again). I definitely had denial (no, school won't be canceled), anger (why can't we just stay until Spring Break), bargaining (we can at least go back for a day to see friends and say our goodbyes), depression (been in this stage far too long), and now acceptance. I get