Holiday traveler

49 lbs is what my suitcase weighed in...at home. Flying back from Thanksgiving I put it on the scale at the ticket counter at 6 a.m. and it was 57 lbs. My ultimatum was to either pay an extra $20 for an overweight bag or take something out. Well...lucky/unlucky for me I knew what I could take out. My new pyrex pans. Yes, I put glassware into my suitcase...it was worth running the risk of being overweight because then I had to carry the darn things in one of my carry on bags the rest of the day. This time I got lucky, the man lifted my bag and said, "oh, this isn't 50 lbs, you're good to go" and sent me to my gate without ever putting it on the scale. Merry Christmas to me!

I'm currently flying from Memphis to Minneapolis...I LOVE the holidays and sometimes getting free inflight wireless! Last year Delta offered free wifi on their flights. This year it isn't as great, but Ebay offers 30 minutes free if you enter an e-mail address. Yes, I'll definitely make up a new e-mail address every 30 minutes. Okay, I take that back, already got kicked off once--now I learned that I need to open a different web browser AND add a fake e-mail address every 30 minutes.

There are lots of children on this plane. Not babies...like 5 year olds.

So, a quick recap from Thanksgiving...although I think the only people that actually read this blog (my mom and grandma) already know these things. My November blues turned into November AND December blues...in the form of pneumonia. It was gross and I was disgusting. After I was finally able to breathe normally, I still had a head cold. For the most part that has cleared up...thank goodness. Better jump back on the gummy-vitamin train!

After Thanksgiving I was in Minneapolis/St. Paul for four more days doing interviews for new applicants. It was fun and I met a lot of great people! Minus being sick, it was a really great selection tour! By the time I got back to the Delta I literally had one full week of observations and meetings with teachers. Their quarters wrapped up this week and the majority of their time was spent giving 9 weeks test, preparing for Christmas programs/plays, holding holiday parties, and trying to keep kids calm and in control. I love the holidays, I DO NOT miss trying to manage children right before the holidays start.

I did a whirlwind Christmas shopping extravaganza this year. Literally. I went to the school on Tuesday to get names, sizes, and a rough idea of what kids would want. I shopped on Wednesday evening for several hours and got pretty much ALL of the toys and most of the clothing. Finished that up on Sunday afternoon, sorted everything Monday morning and a couple of gracious friends came over for dinner and to help wrap on Monday evening. Initially it was 16 kiddos (6 of whom I taught) but after I delivered presents this week I realized I had forgotten a couple of kids--or they were inadvertently left off the list because they weren't in elem school. So...back to the store I went and did some shopping for a 14 year old girl and two baby siblings of one of my former students. While I was at the school asking some of the kiddos what Santa was going to bring them, one of them (an 8 or 9 year old) was having a hard time coming up with anything. A sweet, sweet boy, he said, "well, I guess I hope that Santa will bring something nice that I can give my mom so she can have a blessed Christmas too." Oh my, yes sweet child, he will. Another one, who doesn't have a winter coat says, "hmm..at my grandma's house on Christmas she has this jar of chocolates that I really like. That would be something that I wish Santa might bring." I love them dearly and am so grateful to be given the opportunity to help them have a joyous, youthful Christmas. With that, I am so, SO grateful to anyone who has donated for these kids--whether it was this year or in the past. I wish you could meet each of them and know how big of an impact you have with such a simple gesture.

I want to close out with a pic of my two favorite kiddos from our adventures yesterday but apparently those pictures are still on my camera! Because yesterday was an early release day (they got out of school at 1)...I was able to pick them up and bake Christmas cookies quick before I left for the holidays! We had a HUGE mess in the kitchen, but it was amazing to see how great they were at rolling out the dough and decorating their cookies--especially compared to last year (that rolling pin was sought after but not effective in the least). We had a good time and I hope their 3 plates of cookies last until them until tomorrow or Monday :) I'll try and post a picture late this week!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! May your holidays be joyous and blessed! And that the real reason for Christmas is held in your heart. Yesterday when I asked the 7 year old what Christmas was celebrating he said, "Santa and Jesus." I'll live with that...

November Blues

It's because I was bragging. I should have known better. Last year I bragged alllll winter about never getting sick, hardly ever getting even as much as a snuffy nose...all because I was taking gummy vitamins. This year I resisted the last few (stale) gummies in the bottle and decided I could wait. Lo and behold...I now sound like a man, I can't breathe through my nose, and I cough in such a way that would probably make people mutter *gross* under their breath. I had one observation at a middle school this morning, luckily it happened to be the middle school right down the street. Because the Principal told me last week that she was concerned about this teacher--I didn't want to cancel it. However, as I was leaving his classroom, the Principal says, "Ms. Ward are you taking any medicine for that?" I responded, "yes ma'am" She said, "good, you sound awful." Point taken.

Enough complaining...about that subject at least. Where the heck has this year gone. It's already the middle of November...soon to be December, um what?! How is that even possible? Because the month of October was pretty much a wash: a week in Newark, a week in Columbus, a couple of days at a whole team retreat...these past couple of weeks have been really exciting. I'm seeing soooo many teachers really step up their game and develop into strong leaders of their classrooms. Students are being FORCED to think deeper about their classes and subject knowledge and articulate what they are learning. It's awesome. It's necessary. It's still not perfect.

Only a few more days until I'm back in Minnesota! I fly out on Saturday and am going to the Zac Brown Band concert with Sara--SOOOO EXCITED. I LOVEEEEE ZBB! That's why I have to kick this cold so I scream/sing EVERY WORD! I love having a week at Thanksgiving--even though I have work to get done te first couple of days next week, I'm still excited to be in a new location for a brief period of time!

Just heard on the news that the Obama's are going to see Justin Bieber Christmas Concert? Soooo many things I could say about that, the one that I'm going to leave you with: I wanna go :) NOT because it's Justin Bieber...only because it's Christmas :)

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Nothing about anything

An update of sorts...yeah, yeah, yeah, I haven't written in ages, I've updated once in the last year. I know. Maybe I'll write more regularly, maybe I won't. Still working in the same job...this year I have all new teachers and am supporting people closer to my house. I am also supporting the teachers who are at my old school which is exciting and makes my job feel extremly purposeful being that I know ALL of the kids and many of their families. The first time I walked into a classroom at the middle school an uproar ensued. I guess I didn't realize that I would know the 7th graders from my 2nd year of teaching (they were in 5th grade and I helped their class get ready for the May Day program) and they never expected to see me walk through the door. It's sometimes wonderful to feel like a celebrity in a town of 2,000 people ;)

It's definitely nice to feel more in control in this job, although I'm realizing that each day there is more and more that I need to learn. There are days that I feel like I'm brand spanking new at this, yet other days that things that might have upset me last year aren't anything to get worked up over now. I somehow always find myself behind and with a to-do list a mile long most of the time. I currently have 285 e-mails in my work e-mail...my goal is to get down to 10, by last weekend. Clearly I have some work to do. However, right now I'd rather lay on the couch and look up flights for Thanksgiving (more than $500 and it's still 2+ months away, ugh) and watch Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. Last weekend I spent an entire day lounging and reading a book, the entire thing, it was GLORIOUS.

This is my warning to anyone/everyone...you have the rest of this school year to come and visit me in Mississippi...or it won't happen (and I'm going to reevaluate our friendship!). End of warning.

These next few weeks are going to be crazyyyy. Next week is PACKED for work. I have soooo many observations/meetings/sessions that I am leading, etc. It's good and I'm sure the week is going to FLY. Next weekend is an Ole Miss football game which will encompass my entire weekend--let's hope the weather is as mild as it has been the last couple of days. I take that back, it could be a little bit warmer next weekend for the game. The following week (last of Sept) Ingrid and Sara will be here for a long weekend! I am soooo excited and racking my brain trying to decide where we should eat--there are so many Delta-specific places/items that I want them to experience! The day that they leave I also fly out to Newark NJ for a conference for the majority of the week. October is also packed with a team retreat and the possibility of being gone for a week selecting the next group of corps members. Really, what I'm getting at is that it's practically already November...oh man.

Hope your life is fabulous where ever you are!

The lives that have impacted me...

Right now I'm supposed to be doing a multitude of things...prepping for some interviews that I have to do tomorrow night, reading a packet for our team meeting, sleeping, cleaning my mess of an e-mail inbox, responding to the 78 e-mails that are sitting in there, nahhhhh....I probably won't do any of those things tonight.

I realize I haven't blogged in a long time, I've decided that my job is significantly less interesting now that I am not spending 8 hours a day with 25 five-year olds. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am responsible for supporting 31 teachers to ensure that their kids perform at a rigorous level, however, I don't have the same experiences with kiddos now that I did before, definitely not the same ones day in and out. However, I love my corps members and do enjoy this job. I've committed to one more school year in the Delta...to figure things out and actually feel successful in this job. After days like today though..sometimes I can't imagine leaving.

This story is not one that is a common occurrence, nor is it one that is designed to generate a positive reaction or engage in a few laughs. However, it's reality, the stark reality for my kids. If you have read my blog from the beginning, you'll remember my "little lovely" who caused me grey hair and multiple bruises from the number of chairs he threw during my first year of teaching. Well, he went to first grade, was put on appropriate medicine, was deathly afraid of his teacher and didn't cause major problems (or not that we heard about). When I go back now to visit, I am immensely proud of him. He'll be in line with the other 2nd graders waiting to go to the bathroom and will stare at me until I notice him and he'll wave shyly. He never wants to get out of line or make a scene, but he's the first one to run up and give me a hug when he has the opportunity. I'm so incredibly proud of him and tell him that each and every time I see him. He is working hard in school and is on a much different life path than he was two short years ago.

Today I got a phone call from a teacher at the school saying he "had news. But not good news." My little lovely had brought a gun to school yesterday. He's in 2nd grade. It burns me to no end that he even had access to it. I have no idea where it came from or what it was. Apparently he was showing someone during recess or DEAR (drop everything and read) time. Another student went and told the security guard on campus. He was immediately escorted off campus and taken home. No one found out about it until today, not even HIS teacher. The rumor is that they are trying to keep it covered up so he isn't expelled. I can't even believe it. What if something horrible would have happened. He is in the 2nd grade. He shouldn't even be exposed to something like this, much less be able to put his hands on it. I'm an equal combination of disgusted and mortified. Not to mention having a heavy heart. Nothing horrific happened, thank goodness. But what if it had happened to one of my kids. One of the kids I spent an entire school year with. Ugh, this shows me more and more the risk that we endanger children in our country to. Transformative change. Putting kids on a different life path. Instilling habits, mindsets, and actions that prove we are changing the lives of children, for the better. This is why I am in this job. This is why I am responsible for indirectly impacting 3,090 lives, for the better I can only hope.