A Lifetime of Love

This week brought about the end of the school year, cleaning out lockers and retrieving items from the kids' various schools, returning items to said schools, and lots and lots of rain. Like a lot of rain. Every day. :( Seriously though, this week was a refreshing break after all the emotions of graduation from the week before, as well as the stress of Zoom meetings and school assignments from the weeks prior to that.  I spent a lot of time reading (current read: “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand), meal planning, time in my classroom organizing my lesson files, and preparing for the 4K Art Show at my school. Every year, the preschool holds an event called Family Day. Families come and watch a performance put on by their child’s class and then enjoy a reception. For the 4K students, this also includes an art show. We spend almost the entire semester preparing for the art show. We study an artist and either replicate one of their works or create our own piece based on their st...

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 ...

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 Apprecia...

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...

When we took these pictures, I had no idea these would be the last pictures we took as a class. Looking at them brings so much joy to my heart! What else could the smiles, the laughs, and the fun of dressing up and being silly bring to one’s heart? Today my heart is hurting. I miss these kids. I miss the hugs, the excitement of sharing in their lives, and the thrill of witnessing them master a skill.  I miss my right-hand man (woman) who is so much more to me than my assistant. She is my friend, my idea-bouncer, and the peanut butter to my jelly. She is just as important to the success of the year as I am as the teacher.  We were only a few days away from Family Day, which is the day we sing songs and reveal the art work we have been secretly working on for the past 3 months. The stress of planning the artwork and executing the process was almost to an end, and I was both thankful and excited to reach that point in the year. I had already begun planning our...

Week 3 has been better in many ways. School was easier to complete, I was able to "talk" to friends while maintaining social distancing rules, and I got myself on a more "normal" schedule for our morning routine. Schooling with Ruthie, my 1st grader, went a lot better since I assigned my older 4 girls specific times to play with/entertain my little boys.  We tended to finish her school work by noon each day. Ruthie was also able to Zoom with her Spanish/math teacher one-on-one a couple of times throughout the week. Seeing her teacher and receiving individualized instruction was so good for her emotionally and academically. Ruthie was also able to Zoom with her class and both teachers for a little bit one morning. This is really the first time she has seen her friends and had an opportunity to talk to them. I think it was the highlight of the week for both of us! Ruthie talking with her class A couple of mornings this week I met a friend in a parki...

T.G. and Teagan started back to preschool last week. I have been so busy that I am just now getting a chance to post their "first day" pictures. Here they are: The bonds of sisterhood! :)

Open House day 1 at the preschool was today. I say day 1 because it's tomorrow, too. I had 1 parent stop by today but the rest will come tomorrow, which is my scheduled day. I was nervous but it went fine. I hope tomorrow goes as well. Thankfully I know some of the parents, and one of my good friend's daughter will be in my class. Plus, I sent out an introductory email last week and I've had a very positive response from them. Of the parents I don't already know, most have said how excited their child is and offered their support in various ways. That's a great sign of involved parents and I definitely want that! Very tired today and Teagan wasn't feeling her best so she and I stayed home from church tonight. Ta was very excited about church because he gets to join our church's 'Patch the Pirate' club. The kids memorize Scripture, sing songs, and learn Bible lessons related to everyday living. This is Th's 4 th year and Ta has always wanted to ...