Busy Busy Busy

Such a fun weekend-We went camping in Wisconsin with our friends, the other Pearsons. We biked 50 miles in one day, played minigolf, ate lots of s'mores and banana boats, and enjoyed some Spotted Cow. It was such a fun weekend, but now we are back in the real world for one day. Tomorrow morning, (3am-EEK!), we leave for D.C.. It should be a fun trip, but today I feel swamped with papers and projects for GPDE. I can't believe how much homework we have. There is no way to get it all done, so I am one crabby girl. Sam keeps telling me not to worry, but I can't seem to help it. Therefore, I am trying to relax by checking up on my blogs. It will be about a month until I can veg out online again, so I am soaking it all in now. (i.e.-procrastinating)

Tears

I don't know why I keep finding tears joyful. Seriously, tears usually are brought about by sadness or pain. Lately, I keep finding them refreshing, natural, and inspiring. Last night, I went to see the movie My Sister's Keeper. I honestly wasn't expecting a lot. I mean seriously, I thought I knew the story. I even told my friend Bridget, "Don't judge me if I don't cry. I never cry when I am supposed to." Lo and behold, I spent the entire movie crying. The bond between the sisters was just so touching. It reminded me of my sister, Laura-or Louda, to me. I miss her so much, and she just moved to Montana. It was quiet a coincidence that in the movie, Kate, the sister that passed away, told her family that Montana was the place where they could always find her. That got me...the tears and sadness were so refreshing though afterwards. It really made me realize that I am so blessed. Seriously, why am I so lucky??

sick

How can I be sick during the summer? All school year, through the cold, the snow, the sniffles, and the snot that surrounds me, I remain healthy. Then, summer comes, and BAM, I get the flu. Bah. I wish I could shake it. After saltines and toast, I snuck some real food today. Let's hope it doesn't rock the boat too much.

Tears of Joy

I feel like crying!!! Crying huge elephant tears of joy! A student in my class is currently laughing so hard that tears are rolling down his face. The reason I am so happy? He is reading a BOOK! Amen! All kids need is TIME to read and discover the joy of reading.

Summer

I truly felt like our house became a home this weekend. After lounging around all day Saturday watching Lost, we left for Soph's house and the cabin. It felt so nice to get away, but when we returned I felt this sense of peace and home. We have lived here almost a year this week-and it truly feels like our house now. It helped that we planted our garden yesterday afternoon. Tomatoes, broccoli, beans, peas, sunflowers, pansies! It felt so good to dig in the dirt.

poetry

I have decided that I love poetry. Not fancy-smancy poetry-just simple poems. As I told my students, we are all poets. All we have to do is express emotions through words-it is really art. It's a lovely thought.

Spring
lilac wind
melted cream
sunny mornings
rainy eves
light and joy
Spring

Macbeth

This a place of JOY, but I need to share a sadness I felt today. It is not an overwhelming sadness, just a little frown really, because of my students. I love them dearly, but they can be so gosh darn mean to one another. I try so hard to teach respect, and they seem to just roll their eyes. I am trying to teach my class Macbeth, and they simply couldn't handle it. I overestimated the fact that they are 14. Most of them still call each other names-so they just went to pieces while watching the play. It just really bummed me out. Usually, the kids impress me or at least there is a bright spot, but today there were no bright spots. I guess I should have realized that Macbeth is too much for them!