I'm having a great day!

Once again, I need to apologize for my lack of posts this past year. I have had many changes take place during the school year and just never took the time to post or even knew what to write about! My mom passed away after fighting with cancer for the past 9 1/2 years- she had stage 4 lung cancer which spread to her spine, brain, throat, and bones. While I still miss talking to her everyday, I realize she is in a much better place without pain and worry. I am grateful that I was able to spend the last week of her life with her at the hospice facility. On a funnier note, the first night she asked if I would spend the night with her- I said yes, but asked if I could borrow her nightgown- she said no! She kept asking the doctor when she would be able to get to go play dominoes with her friends at the local tea shop, too! She gave me so much courage and the ability to have a positive outlook on life.


Anyways, my school is done, as of last Thursday. Everything went smoothly this year. My student that always wanted to go home after 30-45 minutes, ended up kind of liking school (he still kept telling me that he couldn't come everyday to school). One day his mom was picking him up from school a little early and was amazed at how many teachers and staff he went up to and told them "I'm having a great day!" This was something that occurred at least 3 times a day, whenever he saw anyone! She was so happy that all the staff genuinely greeted and said good bye to her son with such caring attitudes. She mentioned that she never thought he would be a popular kid at school. It still makes me tear up to think of how much that meant to her. My goal for next year is to have each student in my room feel that special and good about themselves. I mentioned to my principal that we should greet every student in the building (there's approximately 60) with a high five or fist bump.




The last big change in my life is that I'm moving to my parents' house, where I grew up! It will mean a longer commute for me to school, but the benefits are worth it! I will be living in a bigger house and in the country! No more barking dogs or sirens during the night to keep me awake! My husband and I have been working on the house for the past 3 months, getting things cleaned up, repainted, repaired/updated. I still will have a pink tile bathroom, but I can deal with it! I will have an office for all my teaching items- it was my dad's old workshop in the basement, but it has three walls full of built in shelves! After 4 carloads of boxes I'm amazed at how much I have for teaching! I have declared that I can not go into or look at any catalogs for teaching supplies, decorations, books, etc. for at least a year- unless I get rid of something!