2014 Top Ten

This is a little late...

I began a draft of this post a few weeks ago (trying to be ahead of schedule and all), but then my computer shut down (ahhh, technology) and when I went to open it again, bam...half the post was gone.  I cussed said forget it and moved on...and on...and forgot about it.

BUT...I'm back!  Instead of a post with a million pics (like I had originally intended), I decided just to do another top ten (like last year).

2014 was a great year!  Lots of happy moments filled with lovely people.  These aren't really in any order, just as it comes to mind.

1. Welcome, Baby Brooks!

On January 13th, one of my best friends, Casey, brought this precious baby boy into the world.  I anxiously made my way down to Georgia a few days later and was able to spend several days with the new little family.  It has been so much fun watching Brooks grow this year!  He's sweet, giggly, loving, and so well behaved!  It's also been a wonderful transition to see Case move into motherhood - she's pretty fabulous at it!!  Great way to start the year :)

2. Thad turns ONE!!

In June,  we celebrated Thad's first birthday!  It was quite a year with this little guy.  Right before he turned one, I visited and was able to see Thad really start to walk!  I have a video with him walking to me and it melts my heart every.single.time.  Kyle and Meg threw a "farm" themed birthday for the little guy, and I think everyone had fun!!  Lots of laughs, cake, and happiness was shared by all who attended! 

3. Welcome to the world, Wyatt!

On June 25th, another one of my besties, Kelly, welcomed her bouncing, beautiful baby boy, Wyatt!  She had kept the name a secret, and I was so excited to finally hear the name!  I was able to visit Wyatt at the hospital the day after he was born.  He was (and still is) absolutely precious!  Wyatt has been a joy to spend time with and get to know.  Another baby boy added to the family!

4. Capping Ceremony Speech

When one of my colleagues and friends came to me and told me about her idea to start the tradition of a capping ceremony at RCHS, I was so excited!  I quickly told her I would love to speak at it if she needed me to.  When she asked several month later, I happily accepted!  It was such an honor to speak in front of so many students whom I had taught, loved, supported, and watched grow over the past 4 years.  It was definitely a highlight of the year and my career.

5. Summer Travels (and hanging with my lil guys!)

I didn't travel quite as extensively as I have in the past, but I spent a lot of quality time with my little guys!  I traveled to Durham, Raleigh, and GA several times to visit and snuggle with my little nuggets.  I will forever treasure this time that I have with them while they are still tiny!

6. Meg and Caro Graduate

In May, two of my favorite people received degrees from their respective colleges. It happened to be on the same day too!  I did double duty to make it to both and watch their HUGE accomplishments.  Caroline graduated from both Duke (with a Masters of Divinity) and UNC-Chapel Hill (with a Masters of Social Work).  It was a beautiful ceremony!  

My sister graduated from NC State with her degree in horticulture.  I was so proud as my sister got her diploma.  She has accomplished so much in her young life, and I am just happy I get to tag along as the "big sis"! 

7. NCTE and Exploring DC

Last year I was able to travel up to Boston to attend the NCTE - a HUGE conference for English teachers!  My English partner in crime, Emily, went as well.  We traveled up there with her department and had a blast!!  I learned a lot, got to explore a new city, and spent some quality time with one of my best friends!!  A bonus was presenting with my English Methods teacher who I admire greatly!  Even though there were only 3 people at the session (last slot of the last day), we had a good time!

8. Meg and Kyle get hitched!

Easily one of the best moments of my life was watching my sister walk down the aisle at her wedding.  I was thrilled to be her maid of honor and help her celebrate her special day.  Thad was PRECIOUS as the ring bearer.  The whole weekend was great and a true celebration of love.  

9. Leah and Kelsey get married!

Our family did a lot of celebrating this year!!  In September, my cousin Leah married her wife Kelsey.  They went up to DC for the actually ceremony, but we had a reception in Morganton the next weekend.  It was another wonderful celebration of love and happiness!!

10. Winston GG Weekend

It had been a year and two babies since all the girls had been able to spend a weekend together.  It was a HUGE bonus all the husbands, babies, and boyfriends made it too!  We had a lot of food, laughs, and talking time.  It is truly a remarkable thing to have 6 best friends who just fall back into old times when we're together.  It was an amazing weekend!  We already have our next 3 years of trips planned!!

WHAT A YEAR!  It was a good one!  It wasn't all bubbles and glitter, there were definitely some down moments as well, but looking over these moments, I am reminded of how blessed my life is.  I'm reminded of all the family, friends, and babies that fill my life and heart with abundant amounts of love.  I'm hoping 2015 is just a magical!

Old Friend

Hello there old friend.

I have supremely neglected this little nugget of writing love.  This past year has been one full of personal ups and downs.  Oh, the ups have been so wonderful, but the downs were pretty low in the valley.

I hate the cliched "resolutions" and promises that...lets be honest...we probably aren't going to keep.  If I had lost all the weight I promised myself I would lose each January 1st, I'd be TINY.  But, I'm not.  However, I continue to grow and learn more about myself.  There is a whole bucket full of new promises and claims that I want to write about.  This is going to be a great year...I know it.

I invite you to read along on my journey.  Writing is cathartic for me.  With that being said, I don't write this for anyone but myself.  I know that other people's writings have inspired me, so maybe someone will like this ole blog.  Regardless, I'm happy to be back on here...writing...posting...and freeing all of these words from my head.

(Source)

Summer Time Thoughts

I have been meaning to sit down and blog for the past month.  At the beginning of summer I always think that I'm going to catch up on so many things.  I'm going to finally finish those 3 books I'm in the middle of, I'm going to update the blog, put some new material on my teaching blog, plan tons of lessons, and get all those pesky lines on my to-do list marked off.

Alas, I haven't done hardly any of the above mentioned things.  Instead, I've held babies, watched my nephew take his first steps, have surprise sleepovers with friends, cookout with my parents, spend time with best friends who I never get to see during the school year, and read blogs.

You know what?  I'm okay with it.

I spend so much time listing things to do on this endless list.  I always put stuff that needs to be done down, but rarely do I put down the things that I want to do.  I never write, "giggle with Brooks" or "splash water with Thad".  I forget to jot down, "visit your grandmother" and "go spend some time outside".

I have one month 'til my students start school again.  I've missed them and my routine, but I'm really going to miss waking up and walking into the sounds of one of my favorite little guys.  I'm going to miss watching whole seasons of series on Netflix.  The busy will be back before I know it, so for the time being...I'm going to take it easy, decorate my classroom, get some more baby snuggles, and just "be".

Redrawing the Picture

This is the speech I gave for my school's capping ceremony a couple of weeks ago...

Parents, family, friends, administration, and most importantly - students in the class of 2014,

It is indeed an honor to be speaking in front of all of you.  This group holds a special place in my heart as I have had several "teaching firsts" with so many of you.  Some of you bared with me through my first attempt at teaching English I.  You patiently went along with me as I tried to get you excited about Romeo and his dear Juliet.  Many of you were in one of my first English II Honors classes.  A thank you is deserved for allowing me to make you my guinea pigs with projects and assignments and daybooks and new novels.  Some of you were in one of my favorite English II classes I have ever taught.  We rapped vocabulary and learned about how the ancient Medea connected with Tyler Perry's namesake.  We went through an earthquake together and you saved me (and didn't laugh too hard) when I fell off my wedges in a moment of teaching excitement.

However, ALL of you are to be celebrated here today at Rockingham County High School's first ever capping ceremony.  How cool is that?  I love being the first to experience things, and I think that this class with all your flair and smarts deserve to be celebrated in this special way.  Graduation is a time to be excited, capture memories, and hold on to them tight.

I'm also honored to stand here today because this is the ultimate "full circle" moment for me.  Almost exactly 10 years ago, I was in the very same position you all find yourselves.  I was getting ready to leave my hometown for a new adventure, set out on my own, and try to muddle my way through the next step in life.  10 years ago, on a warm football field, I threw my cap up in the air and had absolutely no idea what life was going to bring me in the next decade.  Think about it - can you picture yourself 10 years from now? What does it look like?

When I was in 8th grade, I remember finishing a test early.  We had been given a piece of scratch paper to cover up our answers...I don't think anyone uses this for its real purpose.  I, instead, decided to "map" out my future - as only a 13 year old girl can.  I even included cute little stick figures - it was indeed beautiful.  I sketched out my future, and it included graduating from high school, college, graduate school, meeting the man of my dreams (who happens to be extraordinarily wealthy) at 25, having my gorgeous wedding at 26, having the perfect child who never cries at 28, and so on and so forth until I had a little grandchild on my lap at 70.  Well, as of last week, I'm 28...and that picture hasn't exactly panned out as expected.

There is a little part of me..the OCD/type A part...that is really bothered by this fact.  I question what I did wrong to not have the picture I had so longingly dreamed of.  I feel like I did the checklist.  I went to school, did well, I've worked at my job for 6 years...so where is the rest of the picture?

But, when I stop and think about it, when I start getting all "woe is me", I realize that that map could have never included all the things that I HAVE done.  I didn't take into account that there would be trips across the Atlantic and US.  I didn't sketch in all the wonderful friends, students, colleagues, and new family members I would be graced with in my journey.  My picture changed, but that's okay.  That is indeed the way life is intended.

The picture you would draw for yourself today is likely to change.  That's one of the inevitable things you will learn in life.  The perfect drawing that you have in your mind might have to be modified, erased, or possibly torn up completely.  Look at that as a gift.

The important thing to know and do is not to hesitate to re-draw that picture.  Make some mistakes, but know that when you do, your picture is still coming into focus.  Life has this huge eraser that allows you to make the things that didn't work out, actually end up just fine.  The failed friendships and relationships allow new people to come into your life.  The missed opportunities that you feel slipped through your fingers will actually leave room for things that you could never yet imagine.

Draw the picture, have a plan, but have confidence and faith that when you're standing in front of the mirror ten years from now, that very picture might have developed into something kind of different.  Something even better.

I want to end with some wise words said by someone whom I've always looked up to.  Growing up, one of my favorite shows was "Boy Meets World".  Many of you have probably seen it in reruns.  In the very last episode, the main characters ask Mr. Feeny, one of their beloved teachers, for some final advice.  He had followed them throughout middle and high school and then even showed up in college...which I promise I will not be doing.  I love the advice he gives them.  He says, "Believe in yourselves, dream, try, do good."  Topanga, being the good English student, questions him and asks, "Don't you mean, do well?" "No," he answers, "Do good."  I pray each of you does "good" in this world.  Come back and show me the masterpiece you have ended up drawing for yourself.  I can't wait to see it.

#6

Every year, about this time, I'm thrust into moments of deep reflection.  I think about the past year of teaching, what I learned, who I learned it from, why it was important for me to learn, so on and so forth.

The first semester of this school year was the most challenging semester I've had in my six years of teaching.  I taught AP English Language and Composition for the first time.  A course that is challenging in many ways: writing, reading, discussing, and vocabulary.  Coming into the class for the first time, I knew there would be hardships, but I didn't expect them to affect me the way they did.

It wasn't until I was standing in front of my third period class sobbing over a mispronounced vocabulary word, that I knew it was hindering my teaching.  With tears streaming down my face, I quickly exited the class and ran to my friend Angela's classroom.  I cried to her, "I didn't know it was going to be this hard!  Why can't I do this?  I'm not smart enough for this!"  She gently assured me that it would indeed be okay.  This was a challenging course to teach, but I would make it through.  And I did...barely.  I'm not going to lie, I definitely had periods of time when I wanted to give up.  I felt stupid, unequipped in knowledge, and just inadequate.  I felt that I was hurting my students and their learning.  How in the world would I ever learn from a mess like this?

But...per usual...at some point, I realized that I could do this, I would push through, and defeat was simply not an option.

One of the reasons I think I struggled so much - other than the high level of class and feeling inadequate 95% of the time - was that I was also juggling several other balls.  I felt so stretched thin - which is the only time I can use the adjective thin to describe me.  I felt that I didn't know what to do.  I didn't feel like I was doing anything well.  I think, in reflection, I had to go through that.  I had to see that it is impossible for me to do everything perfectly.  Everything in life, especially in a career, takes time and practice.  My nagging sense of perfection gets in the way A LOT.

But, I'm learning.

Learning to say no.
Learning perfection doesn't exist.
Learning that I can only do what I can do.
Learning that it's more than teaching.
Learning that being there for my students is also important.
Learning that sometimes I can't do everything.
Learning that it's okay to feel inadequate sometimes.
Learning.

The second semester was a blessing from God.  I think He knew that I would quit teaching if I had another semester like the first one.  My classes during the second semester were ones I was comfortable with, ones I have taught again and again.  My students were well behaved and tried hard.  I finally had a chance to come up for air from the ocean that was drowning me during first semester.

Life teaches us lessons in a thousand different ways. We just have to be willing to learn.  And...I am.

Brooks' Sip and See

This past Saturday, our group of friends hosted a "Sip and See" to welcome little Brooks into our family.  We really are a family after all these years.  We've seen each other through so many different things!  One of the most recent celebrations we've had is the birth of Brooks, Casey's son.  He is beautiful!

We decided to have a "Sip and See" instead of a baby shower so that everyone could really enjoy Brooks, and also celebrate Clay and Casey.  Em and Carrie graciously let us invade their house up in the beautiful hills of Morganton.  It was awesome to be able to have it where we all grew up.  I pray that Brooks has a special group of friends like us!

Our theme was BOOKS!  Not really shocking considering at one time all but one of us was a teacher!  We had a blast planning the shower and everything came together so well!  All of our food centered around books:

Sweedish Fish/Goldfish - One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Brownie Bear Treats - Corduroy Goes to the Beach
Meatballs - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Pickles - Pickles over Pittsburgh
Chocolate Chip Cookies - If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
Assorted Fruit and Dip - Each Peach Pear Plum
Caterpillar Cake Pops - The Very Hungary Caterpillar
Duckie Punch - Farm Animal Kids Book 

We were blessed with BEAUTIFUL weather (I was nervous since the day before the party it was snowing and sleeting!!).  There was still snow on the ground, but it felt great outside!  We were able to take pictures outside and enjoy the day.

 I think Brooks has a nice little library started!  It makes my English teacher heart very happy!  I told Case I hope to have him reading by 2 years.  He has two high school English teacher aunties AND a elementary school teacher auntie!  We'll get him reading!

I say this all the time, but God truly blessed me with the best friends.  As I grow up, I realize how rare it is to still be friends with a group from your hometown.  We've seen each other through ups and downs, weddings, degrees, job changes, and now babies!  I adore them and we absolutely LOVE Brooks and are SO excited to have our first Garland Baby :)

Falling behind in February!

So much for keeping up with the blog once a week!  It looks like once a month might be the winner this year.  School has been busy - frustrating - not because of my kids, but because of drunken mother nature.  I think homegirl has menopause and can't decide if she wants to have a hot flash or freeze us out of the house.  Whatever the case, I'm more than ready for spring.  The weather has definitely put a "hiccup" in my school lessons and plans.  Oh well.

Highlights from the month:

1. Early this month, Em, Carrie, Caro, and I went to visit the newest addition to our family of friends.  We traveled down to Georgia to meet Brooks and visit with Case and Clay.  It was a fun trip and such a treat to sit and hold one of my favorite little guys for awhile.  He's growing so fast!

2. I visited Durham/Raleigh a couple times this past month.  I, of course, had to get in my snuggle time with Thaddeus Rex.  He's growing so quickly!  He's 8 months, crawling, jabbering, pulling up, and still stealing my heart.

While in Durham (the first visit), I got to catch up with my dear friend, Amber.  We've been friends for over 20 years (does that mean we're old?!), so it's always a treat when I get to spend some time with her.  Even though we don't see each other as often as we'd like, every time we're together, it feels like there hasn't been any time to pass between.

On this same trip (it was a really great trip!), I met up with Kelly and Matt for dinner.  As soon as we met up, Kelly and Matt revealed the gender of their baby!  We have another boy coming in July!  They told me in a very unique way.  They handed me a bag of candy and asked what they all had in common...nuts!  Haha, it was a fun way to be surprised!

3. So there was a little snow this month...that, my friends, is called an understatement.  During the second week of February, pretty much all of NC (and SC, GA, TN, AL...THE SOUTH) was dumped with snow.  We had almost 8 inches in some parts of the yard!  I will say it was pretty...but I'm over it now.

4. I spent Valentine's with my sweet friends, Em and Carrie.  We've made a tradition of it, and I look forward to it every year.  This year we went to Target, picked up some Chipotle, and stayed in for a movie night.  Who needs a guy when you have great friends?  (and puppies...I don't have any pics of Em and Carrie, but they're always sweet enough to share their furry children with me!)

5. In the middle of the month I ventured home to Morganton for a quick visit.  I was able to hang out with my family and spend time with my cousin, Leah.  She recently moved back from California and it's always nice to sit back and laugh.  My other cousin, Katy, was supposed to be in town, but again, STUPID MOTHER NATURE halted her plans.  Katy, her husband, and their two daughters were stuck in Chicago for a couple days.  I'm happy to say they're back in NC and loving Wilmington!

6. During the third weekend of Feb., I went to the Rockingham County Distinguished Young Miss competition.  Several of my former students were competing for scholarship money.  They represented our school very well, and I was proud to cheer them on from the crowd!

That same weekend, I went to one of my former students to get my hair cut.  It was so crazy to have one of my kids cut my hair, but Hannah did a FANTASTIC job!  I'm so proud of her and all of her accomplishments!!

7. This past weekend I went to visit my sister, nephew, Caro, Kelly, and Matt.  Lots of good food, fun, talking, and catching up.  I came back yesterday and attempted to be productive, though if you were to look at my to-do list right now, it doesn't look like I got a lot done!

8. I AM OBSESSED WITH MAKING CAKE POPS.  That's all.

Books -

Sad...I only finished one book!  I FINALLY got through Nicholas Sparks' latest book, The Longest Ride.  It was good...it took awhile to get through, don't know if it's one of my favorites, but it was a good read.  Typical Sparks.  I'm actually on the last pages of a book as we speak, and I'm still in the middle of FOUR.  My continuing goal is to finish them!

I just fell in love with a new author - Anne Lamott.  If you've never read any of her work, I highly recommend.  My friend Caro has been a fan for years, and so she was kind enough to share a few of her books for me to read.  She speaks about faith, God, and spirituality.  She's uses wit and wisdom in the best way, and makes me want to read everything she's written!!

I'm reading (for the second time) The Alchemist with my English II Honors class.  If you've never read it, I HIGHLY recommend it.  A beautiful story and it touches on a deeply religious side (I don't go into that with my students, but it was a special read for me).

Hope everyone has a lovely March!  Kick up your feet and enjoy it!