Happy New (School) Year!
Fancy seeing you here!
The start of the school year always feels like the true “New Year” for me.
Fallen Leaves in Central Park -October 2010
There’s something so perfect about the start of fall. The pure bliss that we feel (here in Texas) when the weather finally starts to cool down, and the excitement that the kids carry with them through the hallways at work make me feel happy.
I start to dream about adding pumpkins to my decor, and even let my mind wander to the winter holidays that absolutely fill my heart with joy.
Autumn is the ultimate beginning, because Summer is the ultimate crecendo. This summer was absolutely amazing. I spent the whole time working on a project I loved with my whole heart, making friends I’ll have FOREVER. (RENT is definitely going to have its own blog post in the next few days.)
Summer is so vibrant and exciting – when you have it off… I know it makes non-teachers want to punch me, but it really is awesome. Summer is HEAT and tanktops, ice cubes, and fireworks… It is the epic drum fill and wailing guitar solo at the end of a rock song.
Autumn is the silence that follows, the quiet space when the world around us begins to get weary and prepares for rest. Restoration.
I’m still definitely in the heat of summer, where I live, and I know I have some weeks to go until it’s actually tolerable outside, but the start of school… it’s the first step.
I almost deleted my blog this summer… for good… but that’s just part of the haste and chaos of summer, isn’t it?
Now that things are normalizing and I’m entering the part of the year that I feel like myself again, I’m looking forward to seeing if this little webspace still has some lessons left to teach me.
Sweet Freedom!
I know. You kinda want to kick me in the teeth right now. But I can’t help being excited. I’ve had a busy, crazy, intense year at work, and I’m so grateful for this part of being a teacher!
The next 10 weeks or so should be filled with enjoying our new patio, tending the garden, reading, rehearsing (and performing), and a lot of relaxing and rejuvenation.
I was thinking about when I was a kid during summer vacations. For a few of the most pivotal years in my teens, my mom decided to intervene upon my extreme inclination towards laziness. She insisted that I get my dead ass out of bed, and do something. I had a schedule that I followed most days. It contained things like… breakfast by 9, walk to library at 10:30 (at least a few days a week), 1-2 hours of TV max, and having all chores done by 2pm.
I didn’t like it at the time. But she knows me so well. And she knows that, not only do schedules give me structure, but I, in fact, THRIVE with structure.
I’m a pretty sedentary person, if I just went with what my natural instinct is. I love being cuddled up. I love watching movies. I love playing video games. I love being on my computer. I love reading. I could sleep until noon or 1, and wake up, and go through the day without getting off the couch.
That is the person I may be by my nature, but it is not the person I want to be by CHOICE. 
So, I think this year, I’m going to design a schedule for myself. Something to get me out of bed, get my work outs in, and keep up with all of the things I want to do around the house. A schedule will keep me from WASTING my summer, but will also ensure that I keep a couple hours a day for reading, or blogging, or whatever.
I’m very excited for all that this summer holds.
Do I have any fellow teachers out there? Any great summer plans?
I’ve FINISHED!
Well, last week, I finished my internship, and a day later, I finished my last paper so that means I am DONE with grad school!! YAY! I have to admit that I love, LOVE what I studied, and I will miss the learning. I will not miss the papers, notebooks, or the APA… I hope that the crew up at school keeps me around. I know I’d love to help out at conferences and continue to make presentations. 
So, in August, I’ll graduate with my Masters of Education in Special Education with my emphasis on transition services for adolescents with emotional/behavioral disorders. I’ll also have my behavior specialist certificate and my transition specialist certificate! SHINY!
So, the good news is that now, I get to focus on SPAIN!!
I leave at the end of the week, and won’t return until about the end of the month, so the blog is sure to get dusty. I’ll be writing some blogs while I’m there, perhaps… or maybe on the plane back. But for now, I pack.
I’m sure I’ll pop in a couple more times before I fly out, because I promised you guys a rundown on the illustrious Lola…
I’m pretty much on cloud nine now, because I’m done with school and about to embark on this amazing journey, so Adios for today! 
Back to work (sorta)…
Well, tomorrow, I go back to “work” tomorrow. I’m not mad about it, actually, I’m pretty excited. I know that I’ll have the opportunity to learn a lot, and I know that it won’t be that bad.
See, tomorrow, I start my summer internship. In order for me to graduate in August, I have to log a bunch of hours of field experience. While it is a little bit backwards (because I already have 3 years of teaching experience under my belt), it is still part of the process. So, tomorrow, I’ll go in and assist a teacher, as she prepares for summer school which starts on Tuesday.
It will be kinda cool to be an assistant, because I’ve never been in that role in the classroom before. I just hope that I can be helpful.
In other news, time is REALLY flying towards Spain… I’m working to get my to do list fully fleshed out, but there are so many different facets of that to do list, I keep getting distracted.
There are a bunch of lists, but they fall into specific categories…
- Packing stuff
- Conference stuff
- Itinerary stuff
- Traumatic Brain Injury Class stuff
- Internship stuff
- Before-I-leave stuff
- Money stuff
- Fitness stuff (10k RACE IS ON JULY 4!!)
Basically, I just want to get it all done in time. I’m sure I will, but I definitely will be summoning my very best organizational skills to manage it all!
One more thing, I was going through the “tennis day” pictures from my 20 lbs progress picture post, and I found one I meant to share with you. I should explain and disclaim that I am not a tennis player… my sweet husband is, but I merely go to try my best. With that in mind, d always tries to teach me tennis skills, and while I’ve improved a lot, there are still areas that I am painfully bad at… Case in point, this sweet shot was captured when I attempted a serve… badly.
Please note where I’m looking, where my racquet is and where the ball is. No bueno. hehe.
Anyway, we had fun… Have a great Monday, everybody.
Tore it up! :D
(25/30)
Today, I came home and worked out SO hard!! It felt great… it is a really cool feeling to feel… stronger.
I just measured, and I’ve lost a total of 6.75 inches since starting the shred! Its crazy to me that this one, random thing has had such an impact on me.
ummm, what else? I work in the best school ever. We’re putting on the most adorable christmas play ever, and my friend, Erin is making magic out of CRAZY middle school kids. Its an adorable show, and today was the premier (really just a during school run through for the kids) but tomorrow is opening. I’ll unfortunately miss due to an exam, but… thankfully Jess will be there to put out that fire…
(Leroy Jenkiiiinnnnnnnnnnsssss.)
-
-
-
Leave your email to get my posts delivered daily! -
Twitter
Digg
Flickr
YouTube
Last.fm
Blip.fm
