Happy Mother's Day!

I am the luckiest woman alive. I have the most wonderful, compassionate, loving mom a person could ever want, and I'm not just saying this because she is my mom. If you know my mom, you know this is true. Any time someone talks to me about her, they say the same things. I feel so blessed that God chose me as her daughter. I just hope that I can grow up to be just like her.

My mom wears so many hats. When Eddy and I were growing up, she was the teacher, the nurse, the cook, the taxi driver...I could go on and on. Now that she doesn't have to do those things for her children, she continues to do such similar things for others. She volunteers in the gift shop at Walker Baptist Medical Center in Jasper and is very active in the volunteer organization. She is a member of the Ladies' Bible Class at Woodland Trace Church of Christ in Jasper. These wonderful ladies do so much--prepare meals for the local Hospice, provide support to Childhaven Children's Home in Cullman, AL. My mom is the CARD SENDER. =) She sends cards for birthdays to everyone. I could go on and on.

Sometimes it's hard to pin her down (or to track her down), but I would much rather she stay active and busy. It keeps her young.

So, to my wonderful mom...I love you, and I thank you for EVERYTHING you've done for me! I wouldn't be the person I am if it weren't for you.

I'm very lucky that I have a wonderful mother-in-law as well. She welcomed me into her family with open arms, and I know that she would do anything she could for me. It breaks my heart that she isn't the woman now that she was when I met her in February of 1992. Alzheimer's has stolen quite a bit of that person.

Danny and Linda brought her out here to the lake yesterday. Honestly, I was surprised she came, but Linda said she was wanting to come. It has gotten very hard to get her to go anywhere. About 3:00 though, she started getting antsy and was ready to go. She began worrying about her house not being locked because she didn't have her keys. (Linda had locked it for her because she has lost her keys. Again.) It was very windy, so she began worrying about a storm blowing up. She told John and me half a dozen times that if it did get stormy to go to her house. (We're a good hour away, so driving there wouldn't be the best thing.) She did enjoy herself though.

As I was dialing my mom's number this morning, John said he would call his mom, but she wouldn't remember it. THAT hurt my heart for him. It's is so unfair that he and his brothers and sister are losing their mom this way. I know...nobody ever said that life was fair.

To all of the moms out there, I hope your day is filled with joy, love, happiness, and most of all, relaxation. :)

I love my job!

And this is why...

After the crummy day I had yesterday, I had these notes left by a couple of girls in my first block class. Now, I know I am not the "BEST English teacher in the whole wide world" or "in the entire world," but I will admit that this was a huge ego boost for me.

Teaching is not an easy career. I remember seeing a coffee cup years ago that said, "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." I hated that because it implies that the only people who teach are those who can't do anything else. For my college graduation, the guy I was dating at the time bought me a coffee cup that said, "Those who can't, don't. Those who can, TEACH." I loved it and I used it for years, until a student broke it.

Even though my job...my career...is fulfilling, there is a ton of stress that goes along with it as well. I have students who don't really care one way or the other about an education, and sadly, many of these kids have parents who don't really care either. We are constantly having meetings about this new program or that new state requirement. There is a committee for everything and nothing. And then there is the grading. (Right now, I should be grading the research papers that were turned in Friday.) Some days, I walk out of the building at the end of the day, and I wonder what, if any, impact I made at all.

And then I get notes like the ones above. And I know that I have touched a life.

This wasn't the only ego boost that I got today, either. In my senior English classes, we were finishing up Shakespearean sonnets. Of all that I teach, this is my least favorite unit because it can be so hard to get the students engaged. They think poetry is gross (even though the songs they listen to is poetry. Maybe not good poetry, but poetry nonetheless.) Anyway, we discussed Sonnet 116..."Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments." We discussed how TRUE love isn't going to change because the situation changes and how TRUE love is always going to be like the lighthouse on the shore or the star in the sky in that it never moves. It is always there to guide us. A lot of times when we are doing sonnets, I feel like the Charlie Brown teacher. "Wah wah wah wahwahwah." Imagine my surprise when I saw one of my students had updated her facebook status with a summary of Sonnet 116! I was SO thrilled! Someone had commented on it and said she was going to use it. Lauren then said that it was from Shakespeare and we'd studied it in class today.

So after a totally and completely crummy day yesterday, I've had a really great day today. Let's see what tomorrow holds.

I hope you have a GREAT day!

Monday...ALL. DAY. LONG.

I knew from the minute I opened my eyes that this was going to be a yucky day. I rarely ever have crummy days, and I have even fewer days that are crummy from the very beginning, but this was certainly one of them. First of all, between 3 something and about 4, the weather radio went off twice--once for a flash flood warning and once for a thunderstorm warning. I wasn't sleeping the best before then as it was, so having that jar me awake was unpleasant. Then it came a quick storm. That wasn't so bad. Sleeping to the sound of thunder is soothing to me. And I knew the storm couldn't be too bad; otherwise, the weather radio would've gone off more than it did. And then the alarm went off. Only 19 more days of that. :)

After John finished in the bathroom, I got up and showered. The house was horribly humid, so it was no fun putting on makeup on and drying my hair. (Oh, the joys of a 70+ year old house that doesn't have central air...) My hair looked like a Medusa's snakes were crawling out of it, so I pulled it up into a ponytail.

John was going to drive my car because he didn't feel like trying to drive AND change gears on a yucky, rainy day with only one "good" hand. He went out, but for some reason the battery on my car is dead, so he had to get the truck keys. And now I have to buy a new battery.

Once I was finally ready, I put Ali and Bama in "doggy jail" (the kitchen), got my school bag, my laptop bag, my purse, my phone, my keys (so I could lock the house), and the keys to the Miata. Using my microscopic umbrella (because it was raining cats and dogs), I got half way to the garage when I remembered I needed a key for that door. I turned around and was almost back to the house when I realized that the only TWO keys we have for the garage are on John's set of keys for Miata and the set of keys for the truck. The problem? John, like I said, drove the truck, but he ALSO took his keys for the Miata because that key ring has his work keys on it. Just to make sure, I looked through the basket of keys (because we have only eleventy bajillion sets of keys for four wheelers, lawn mowers, and who knows what else.) Nope, none of them worked. Just on a chance, I tried my car. Nope. Not cranking.

I came back in the house and tried to call John. His dead cell phone was on top of the TV. (Why do I even pay for him to have a cell phone? He doesn't have it with him half the time.) I called my principal and left him a message to let him know what was going on, just in case I couldn't find a solution, and then I began trying to figure out how I was going to get to school. At this point, I was honestly thinking I needed to just call in sick and go back to bed.

Finally, I thought about Sam, so I called her. She hadn't come through Dadeville yet, so she said she would swing by and pick me up.

By the time I got to work, I was in the yuckiest mood. Knowing that sonnets were on the agenda didn't help, either. I enjoy reading them, but I HATE teaching them. This is the only part of my curriculum that I would cut out and not miss ONE BIT. We trudged through them, though, and they are done until next year. And who knows, I might just decide to cut them out next year anyway. Nothing says I HAVE to teach this particular unit.

As the day went on, my mood never got worse, but it never really improved either. Even though the sun ended up coming out and it turned into a gorgeous afternoon, I just haven't been able to shake the yuckiness.

Oh, and I have a crick in my neck too.

Love, Friendship and Family

It's cloudy, the fish aren't biting, and I don't want to grade papers. So while I wait on Mom and Dad to get here, I thought I'd do a quick meme. Feel free to copy and paste.

Love

1. What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Eyes. I always notice eyes.
2. What excites you about the opposite sex? hmmm...a good personality? I don't really think much about the opposite sex since I've got the man of my dreams.
3. What turns you off? Easy one here. Arrogance. I can't stand a man who thinks he is God's gift to the world.
4. Who sleeps next to you at night? John
5. Have you ever had a long-distance relationship? I guess I could say yes. John moved 3 hours away when we were first engaged.
6. Did it work? Why or why not? Sure did. We were in love.
7. Have you broken someone's heart? Yes, but he got over it.
8. Has your heart ever been broken? Sure has, but I got over it.
9. Have you ever been given an engagement ring? No. John couldn't afford to buy me one, but that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was the gold band he put on my finger.
10. Have you ever broken an engagement? No.
11. What is your longest relationship? 18 years
12. Have you ever been married? Yes
13. When was your last kiss? This morning

Friendship

1. Who is your best friend? Mom and Susan
2. When was the last time you saw your best friend? Mom--too long; Susan--almost 2 months ago
3. Which friend would you call if you were in trouble? Both
4. Which friend would you call if you were sad? Both
5. Do you have a friend who knows something about you no one else does? Yes
6. If you were falling, who would you trust to catch you? I'd hope whoever was closest would.
7. Do you miss any friends you haven't seen in a while? Who? Yes! Lots of them!

Family

1. Are both your parents still living? Yes
2. Are you closer to your mother or your father? Mom
3. Did you ever lie to your parents and come clean about it? Yes
4. If they separated, who would you want to live with? Well, since they've been married over 40 years, I don't see that happening. And since I'm an adult, I don't think I'd have to make that choice.
5. Do you have any siblings? Yes
6. Did you ever lock a sibling in the closet? No, but I should have.
7. Did you ever make a sibling bleed? I don't think so.
8. Who would you call if you needed help? I'd call Mom and Dad, and whoever answered would be the person I'd talk to.

Cloudy day

So it's a cloudy day here in Winston County, but that's quite all right. I would much rather be here on a cloudy day than to be "home" on a cloudy day. Honestly, this is just as much home as Dadeville is. I'd prefer to live here, but that will happen in good time.

Danny and Linda left some crickets, so I think I'm gonna go see if any fish are biting. Then I'll probably grade a research paper or two.

Have a GREAT Saturday!