Friday Update!

So, in my last post, I rambled on a bit about dreams and how I miss my sweet college friends. Wellll.... today, I went with my mom to an appointment, and then we ran a couple of errands at the mall, and I am SUPER pleased to say that I bumped into my dear friend KB! (She was pictured in the first photo of the last post.)
 
I can't tell you how excited I was to see her beautiful smiling face (and her precious baby bump)!Although we only chatted for a few minutes, it reminded me that although time and distance may separate us from our friends, our true friends are still exactly that. While we chatted I told her that I had a silly dream about our group, and we both agree that we should stage a little reunion of sorts. I'm completely down.

Happy weekend, y'all! I know I'm starting mine off a little bit happier and springier because I ran into my friend!

"Vintage" photo of B-Dub, KB, and Mandy :)

Subconcious + Imagination = ....?



My beautiful girlfriends! Miss them!

My best friend and me!

What is with dreams? It seems like the weirdest concoction of memories mixed with a hearty dose of what can only be described as pure imagination blend and swirl together to make an alternate reality during those minutes spent in REM. And though REM sleep only lasts a short period of time, these dreams can seem like they envelope the entire night, dragging you through what could literally take hours or days in conciousness to accomplish.


They can also draw up and contort visions of the past. If anyone of you knew me during my college years, and the couple years following, you probably know I had some amazing friends, had a ton of adventures, and that I love and miss those friends and times dearly. You probably also know that my BFF was a dude, and we were generally inseperable. But, time and distance change things, and looking back I can see that we were in a weirdly co-dependent relationship. It was kind of psychotic really, and if I spoke to him today, I would probably apologize for being so dang... ugh. (Side note, he owes me a lot of apologies, too! I promise I wasn't the only crazy one in that relationship!) I should probably apologize to all of my other friends for that relationship, too, but there's not enough time in the world, and that's another post.
 

A lovely bunch of my friends and me at a college formal

Zoo escapades

 Anyway, this dream. I can't remember exactly what happened. That's the funny thing about dreams. As vivid as they are, and as much as you repeat to yourself throughout the dream that you will remember every last detail, you never do. I do remember a restaurant with a group of dear friends, and I remember reading a letter from said BFF. Actually, a letter to him, and a letter from him. In the dream, I could see each word printed on the page (literally, it was a print-out of an email,) and the letter from me described what I think would be exactly what I would say to him if I were to relay my current understanding of our former friendship. Only.. the letter took place during our final year of college.. so it's my current perspective, had I told him in the past. (I know, dreams are weird like that!) And the letter from him.. well, I found it shocking. It's not at all what I would have ever dreamed (haha pun intended) he would say to me.

Another formal

 Does that mean anything? I have no idea. Why am I even dreaming about this? Do I need closure from this former friendship? I mean, we didn't split on bad terms. My goodness, we grew up, we grew apart, we married our fantastic spouses, we moved away, started careers..

Alaskan adventure with one of my best pals! (yeah,
we climbed that mountain barefoot!)

Dreams perplex me.


Subconcious + Imagination = Simply Confusion.


Organization... I don't have it!

Ok, so I know it's summer, and technically, according to societal norms, I'm supposed to be relaxing by the pool, sleeping in, sippin' fruity drinks, so on, and so forth. However, today I spent my day going through a mountain of papers that were sititng on the island in the kitchen.

For literally hours, I separated, shredded, categorized, and filed papers in a binder. I found 2 (TWO!) checks that needed to cashed that were just piled on there (totalling no more than $15 combined, mind you), one of which had not even been opened! (It was addressed to the husband, fyi.)

How on earth do I let all of that junk pile up? It seems like I'm so busy that when I get home, I check my mail, pay whatever bill needs to be paid, and leave the rest of it for later when I have "more time." Then I jump into washing clothes, fixing supper, or whatever else seems to be more important. There has GOT to be a better way. I mean, I can't let all of that stuff pile up until May every year!

So far today, here is what I did:
I took a gigantic binder, sectioned it off with dividers, and labeled them "bills and statements, insurance, healthcare, services and memberships, bank" and I tried to "file" everything in order oldest to newest so I can stick new arrivals on top. I may not do it every time something new comes in, but I'm going to at least try to get it all filed a couple times a month.

My question is this: How do you keep it all together? Do you have a specific routine, location, or system? I need help!!!

The Monster Under My Bed

I awoke this morning, promptly at... 2 AM. I heard scratching, scurrying, and I... I panicked. I had heard that sound before. I knew where it came from. There was a MOUSE in my bedroom.

I tried to ignore it; "It's probably in the attic," I thought. "There's only been a mouse in my house once, and it was promptly caught. It came in from outside when we moved an above-ground pool. It won't bother me. It's not in here." And I went back to sleep.

At 3 AM, I woke up again. The dreadful sound of crinkling paper filled my ears. "Oh no.. it's in here, and it's nesting!" I thought. Complete terror filled my being. If it was moving in, it must have a family. But the crinkling stopped, and I decided it must be in my imagination.

4:30 AM, and I'm once again bright-eyed. More scurrying. Where was this taking place? I couldn't quite locate the sound in the pitch dark, and I didn't dare sit up. What if it got me?!

5:30 AM, and this time, Keith heard it too. He sat bolt upright at the sound of crinkling, scurrying, nesting.. "Wal-Mart is open in 30 minutes," he said. "I'm going to get a trap." My worst nightmare come to fruition: a mouse was sharing my bedroom.

I didn't go back to sleep then, but decided to wait in bed. I didn't want to put my feet on the floor, lest it attack me. 

A few minutes after 6, as the rattling continued, and light poured through the cracks in the blinds, I decided I would be brave. I sat up in bed. I scooted down to the foot of the bed, and sat perfectly still. Again, with the noise! Someone must stop this vile creature before it set up a home inside mine!

Carefully, slowly, I peered over the footboard.

A gift bag, left over from my birthday a few days ago, sat just at the foot of my bed, billowing with tissue paper. I had forgotten to put it away. Just then, I heard a crinkle, and I realized... the monster was inside the abandoned bag! It could easily leap onto the bed and gouge my eyes out with it's monstrous claws! I called Keith's cell phone -- no answer! I left a message.. GET HERE NOW!! I FOUND IT!!!

I couldn't see the creature, and I knew to dodge its attack, I must turn on the light to keep it within my sight. I leaned as hard as I could across the void between the bed and the wall where the light switch resides. I flipped it, and the crinkling, scratching, nesting went WILD!

I jumped back to my place of saftey, and lifted only my eyes above the headboard to look back into the bag, when I saw it...

It was brown. It scurried quickly over the matching brown tissue paper making the most noise you could possibly imagine....

It was a bug. Just then, Keith came in. "I FOUND IT!" I shrieked.

I showed him. He smushed it.

Vengeance. Is. Mine.

Sweet Summer Time

One final bell. The engines rumble. Air brakes release with a whoosh. Squeals of joy and excitement fill the air, and laughter rings out all around. With a squeak, the doors close behind them, and the tires crunch rocks as they leave the parking lot.

The buses are gone. The kids are gone. The halls are empty. The teachers rejoice! It's summer!

What's your favorite thing about the end of the school year?

Heartbroken

I love all the kids I teach. I love the ones who misbehave, the ones who never study. I love the ones who are over-achievers, the ones who have no place to live, the ones who live in mansions and dress to the nines, and the ones who break dress code. I love the ones who work my last nerve, the ones who do everything right, and all the ones in between. I love the short ones, tall ones, graceful ones, uncoordinated ones, bookworms, the ones who have an inch of dust on their textbooks, and the ones who don't know where their textbooks are at all. I love the musical ones, the ones who can dance, the ones who can make me laugh, the ones who make me cry, the ones who play sports, the ones who cheer, the ones who draw, the ones who write, and the ones who brood in the corner from so much teenage angst they drip with it.

   And that's why it breaks my heart when one is absolutely convinced that I hate him or her. I try every day to show all of my kids I care. I know I'm not perfect, and I don't claim to be the teacher-of-the-year, but I try. I try very hard. I try very hard not to show favoritism to students. It's very hard sometimes when some students are very open and outgoing and you know every detail of their lives and some never so much as utter a hello to you, but I try to make them all feel special, because they are.

  I would never want my students to feel that I like someone more, that I care more about someone else's day, or that I would prefer another to out-perform, or succeed more than them.

But today, one does. And so I am heartbroken. And I hope, that by the grace of God, and the wisdom and sensitivity He provides me through this situation, that she will know, and she will feel, that she is loved by many... and one of them, one of her biggest fans... is me.

A Teacher's Letter to David Vitter

I originally sent this to David Vitter, after reading an e-mail from him condemning teachers for standing up against Act 54. I think all of our officials, as well as our citizens need to understand what Act 54 really does.

Senator Vitter,

As a Louisiana public school teacher who has also taught in the private sector, I completely agree with you that learning is not going on in classrooms. However, it is not because teachers are lobbying at the capitol.

Meaningful learning is not taking place in public school classrooms because of the "reform" that elected officials are imposing on our teachers and schools. Teachers are being forced to "teach to the test" in order to save their jobs and measure up to the high-stakes ranking system that will soon be in place, leaving all meaningful curriculum instruction in jeopardy. Teachers are required to push material that is stressed on standardized tests (and will continue to do so under the new common core plan,) without regard to the knowledge students really need.

Our public schools are also understaffed. Even small schools, such as the one at which I teach, are full of classrooms that are completely over-loaded. Good teachers are forced to teach outside of their certification areas, and are then punished for it by the State. Small classrooms built sixty years ago to hold twenty small, elementary –aged children now house twenty-five or more teenagers. We don’t even have room for our students, but we are supposed to also find space for completing project-based learning, hands-on use of technology, and group exercises. And when these twenty-five to thirty teenaged students become rowdy, teachers are admonished by the higher-ups for not keeping up with “good classroom management” practices.

Take into the account the teacher ranking that was published in New York City. Teachers were ranked from highest to lowest performing, and had their names printed in the New York Times, regardless of the fact that the study which determined rank was said to have as much as 53% margin of error! How many of you, our elected officials, would like the same study published regarding your job performance?

I agree that teachers, just like workers in any other profession, need to be held accountable. However, let's actually give teachers the tools needed to do their jobs before giving a grade. Teachers need a solid curriculum with accurate evaluation methods for every student. We need books, materials, technology, and real-world experiences to share with our students that will aid our lessons. We need co-workers, support teams, administration, and elected officials who are informed, stand FOR teachers, students, and learning, and not just "reform." We need professional development, suitable classroom facilities, and discipline, not high-stakes testing. We need financial stability for school systems, constructive criticism, and enough staff to make our class-size manageable, not vouchers that will send our students elsewhere.

The majority of Louisiana teachers care deeply for their students. Our government claims to care about them as well. When will our elected officials begin to truly care for teachers? At many times, it seems to be forgotten that without good teachers, you wouldn’t be where you are today.

Sincerely,
Tracy C.
 XXXXX Parish