5 Things to be Thankful For
Balance is important in one's life. And you know your life is out of balance when your violin teacher chooses your lesson to make a "random" spiel about balance. Now that conferences, the music club program, and the 175th church anniversary are all over, my life is somewhat back in balance.
Now, I've never been that dedicated person who can post every day on Facebook throughout the month of November of things for which I am thankful. But, now that I am a (fairly) dedicated blogger, I thought this might be the perfect outlet for my thankfulness. Because I am a grateful person, I promise! Since the month is eleven days in, I think I shall just do this in five day chunks until I get myself caught up (by the 15th...here's hoping!)
1. My family
I have an amazing family...I'm not entirely sure I can say it enough. My support system is endless, from siblings and parents who tolerate my crazy and love me anyway to grandparents who cheer me on, to cousins who take an interest in my every day life (from school to friends to dating, nothing is off limits!) and aunts and uncles who help me with every little thing in my life. I feel sorry for people who don't have close familial ties the way I do, and the longer I am in education, the more I realize that my family is not the norm. We are the exception. When you grow up with your cousins as best friends and playmates, spending your days at your grandparents houses, and put family before everything else, you truly are blessed. And I am grateful.
2. My friends
I will flat-out make a confession: I am a terrible friend. I am absolutely awful at staying in touch with my friends. I am completely selfish with my time, and I'm not very good at opening up to people. That being said, I have a very small group of friends. Whenever I say that, I feel like I sound like a whiny adolescent, "I don't have any friends!" But that isn't at all what I mean. I have friends--not many, but who said you need a lot? I'm not that person that can handle twenty or so friends. I'm content with the few that I have, and those few are indeed special. They have seen me at my worst and at my best and they still choose to call me a friend. Now, they are scattered all over the country so I really don't get to see them all that much, but when I do, it's always a good time. Thanks, ladies, for tolerating me :) I love you all!
3. My job
To me, it isn't a job. Teaching is my career. And yes, there are days when I don't want to wake up, and there are days when I get to school and the kiddos make me want to pull my eyebrows out, and there are days when all the standards and the assessments and the evaluations and the grades make me want to cry and just give up...but thankfully, those are few and far between. I love waking up each morning and figuring out what I'm going to teach and how I'm going to teach it. I love showing kids why the material is important. I love watching their eyes and faces when they finally get something or are shocked by something...by the way their ten-year-old minds work. By their simple view of the world and their innocence...these kiddos give me hope. And then they tell me they have never read Harry Potter, and I weep for the future of humanity.
4. My coworkers
Part of the thing that makes my job so wonderful are the amazing coworkers I have. I honestly don't think teaching would be as much fun if it weren't for them. Our fourth grade team is wonderful--we collaborate, we laugh, we share horror stories and encouragement. Suzy, Kristin, and Katie make my day so much brighter--thanks, ladies! And then you have the fifth grade team (Kathy, Corri, Jill and Carl), with all their combined experience, to help guide me along when I'm stuck. And Margie in the office with her big smile and even bigger heart! And Judi and Diane, Sharla and Becky, Angie and Debbie, Diane and Cindy, Don and Doug, Brenda, Rebecca, Steven...and Roland! My day would not be the same without any of you--thank you!
5. Freedom
Today being Veteran's Day, it seems appropriate to mention this here. I'm so very thankful for the freedoms my country gives me, and for the men and women throughout history who have fought for those freedoms. I'm thankful that both my grandfathers and all three of my cousins came home safely from their tours. I'm thankful that I can sit here and write this post and not have to worry about what happens when someone reads it. I'm thankful I can have my students write letters to veterans and we can spend an entire day creating poppies to deliver to the nursing home. Thank you, veterans. As long as I'm breathing, you will never be forgotten.
Stay Gold!
Now, I've never been that dedicated person who can post every day on Facebook throughout the month of November of things for which I am thankful. But, now that I am a (fairly) dedicated blogger, I thought this might be the perfect outlet for my thankfulness. Because I am a grateful person, I promise! Since the month is eleven days in, I think I shall just do this in five day chunks until I get myself caught up (by the 15th...here's hoping!)
1. My family
I have an amazing family...I'm not entirely sure I can say it enough. My support system is endless, from siblings and parents who tolerate my crazy and love me anyway to grandparents who cheer me on, to cousins who take an interest in my every day life (from school to friends to dating, nothing is off limits!) and aunts and uncles who help me with every little thing in my life. I feel sorry for people who don't have close familial ties the way I do, and the longer I am in education, the more I realize that my family is not the norm. We are the exception. When you grow up with your cousins as best friends and playmates, spending your days at your grandparents houses, and put family before everything else, you truly are blessed. And I am grateful.
2. My friends
I will flat-out make a confession: I am a terrible friend. I am absolutely awful at staying in touch with my friends. I am completely selfish with my time, and I'm not very good at opening up to people. That being said, I have a very small group of friends. Whenever I say that, I feel like I sound like a whiny adolescent, "I don't have any friends!" But that isn't at all what I mean. I have friends--not many, but who said you need a lot? I'm not that person that can handle twenty or so friends. I'm content with the few that I have, and those few are indeed special. They have seen me at my worst and at my best and they still choose to call me a friend. Now, they are scattered all over the country so I really don't get to see them all that much, but when I do, it's always a good time. Thanks, ladies, for tolerating me :) I love you all!
3. My job
To me, it isn't a job. Teaching is my career. And yes, there are days when I don't want to wake up, and there are days when I get to school and the kiddos make me want to pull my eyebrows out, and there are days when all the standards and the assessments and the evaluations and the grades make me want to cry and just give up...but thankfully, those are few and far between. I love waking up each morning and figuring out what I'm going to teach and how I'm going to teach it. I love showing kids why the material is important. I love watching their eyes and faces when they finally get something or are shocked by something...by the way their ten-year-old minds work. By their simple view of the world and their innocence...these kiddos give me hope. And then they tell me they have never read Harry Potter, and I weep for the future of humanity.
4. My coworkers
Part of the thing that makes my job so wonderful are the amazing coworkers I have. I honestly don't think teaching would be as much fun if it weren't for them. Our fourth grade team is wonderful--we collaborate, we laugh, we share horror stories and encouragement. Suzy, Kristin, and Katie make my day so much brighter--thanks, ladies! And then you have the fifth grade team (Kathy, Corri, Jill and Carl), with all their combined experience, to help guide me along when I'm stuck. And Margie in the office with her big smile and even bigger heart! And Judi and Diane, Sharla and Becky, Angie and Debbie, Diane and Cindy, Don and Doug, Brenda, Rebecca, Steven...and Roland! My day would not be the same without any of you--thank you!
5. Freedom
Today being Veteran's Day, it seems appropriate to mention this here. I'm so very thankful for the freedoms my country gives me, and for the men and women throughout history who have fought for those freedoms. I'm thankful that both my grandfathers and all three of my cousins came home safely from their tours. I'm thankful that I can sit here and write this post and not have to worry about what happens when someone reads it. I'm thankful I can have my students write letters to veterans and we can spend an entire day creating poppies to deliver to the nursing home. Thank you, veterans. As long as I'm breathing, you will never be forgotten.
Stay Gold!
Comments
Post a Comment