The Long Haul

It has been a whirlwind around here lately. I find myself just spinning in place before I head out for the next thing. I don't think I've had such a busy fall in quite a while.

The son turned 13. We've been parents of a teenager for just under two weeks and it has already been a roller coaster ride. Prayers appreciated for the teen and his parents. So far I've decided that teens are: time consuming, argumentative, expensive, alternately funny and infuriating within the same conversation, tall, in need of an imposed wake up time, and still the same kid they were a few weeks ago but with more attitude.

The other son has found a hobby. Hobbies to be exact. He is on the school robotics team, in the school Christmas play, singing a solo in the church Christmas play, and willingly chose to read the first Harry Potter book.. for a second time. I am so confused. He can be quite delightful most days and gives a great back rub. And it is evident that he is changing and growing up. That's good. But I will miss him as a little guy. I hope he stays just as snuggley.

My library classes are winding down for the semester. By winding down I mean I have 7 more projects/papers to complete in the next 3 weeks. But if I finish the semester successfully I will be over half way finished with the degree. It seems like I should be closer to finishing, but Dec 2014 is as close as I could get it without selling one of the children or losing my job. I can't wait to see what doors open up for me when I get this done. It will allow me to continue to work with children everyday but not have to deal with the classroom issues that suck the fun out of working in a school. There are different problems, I know. But after 20 years in the classroom (by the time I am done), different will be OK.

So, we are fine. Just living a very full life. I am looking forward to seeing my family at Thanksgiving. Some time away will be nice. So I am hanging on until school gets out for the holiday. I should probably invest in some grips or something to make hanging on easier.

The saying "It's a mad, mad world" might apply to Willingham's World. We are pretty crazy, but in a good way, I like to think.

We are mad enough to think that our kids are pretty awesome. Even amidst the early teen sarcasm and challenges, they are still nice to other people. They still get along with each other long after their friends have stopped liking their siblings.  And they still ask to do things with us. Yes, I am cherishing the moments.

We are mad enough to pray about insane impossibilities, like going to Germany as a family next summer (It's just money, right?) and making a big financial decision to get rid of some debts that common sense advises against. Still praying about these, by the way.

We are mad enough to have have hope that lives can be changed for Christ in a secular, money and performance based society that stresses "tolerance for all as long as it looks like us."

And we are mad enough to think that this 20th year of marriage could be the best yet! Even with some serious challenges, we are making plans for the future and trying to figure out how to keep family close in this new stage of life with older kids and different pressures.

A quick swing by

Just swinging by to say I smell like sewage and desperately need my roots done. 40 is terribly glamorous. Off to sort and fold clean laundry, change my stinky clothes (imagine elbow deep in several day smelly laundry water)(you can only judge if you've never left a load of laundry in the washing machine a tad longer than planned) (Ok, I forgot I ran it, and the washer didn't drain, and then I went on laundry strike for maybe 4 or 5 days), participate in Bible study and plan meals for the week. Not in that order.

Be jealous of my awesome God-filled life, because I sure do have it all tog.... can't even finish typing that one. It's just heresy. My life is life. Good/bad/smelly/otherwise.

Class Snapshot

Every year teachers have to compile a spreadsheet with all the important information about each student and turn it in to the administration. You'd think in this technological age that you could just run a report or something, but not when all the information is spread throughout 3 different systems and a paper cum. So here is my snapshot. Oh, I won't be turning this one in...

42 students, 21 in each class
homeroom has:
 15 boys and 6 girls
 8 GT students
 1 Doctor Who fan
 1 student on homebound because she has been battling a cancerous brain tumor since early Spring

afternoon class has:
 12 boys and 9 girls
 1 autistic student, high functioning but needy
 3 girls that I have yet hear speak
 1 student who is in the church class I lead on Sunday mornings. She is very excited about seeing me 6 days a week!
 1 immature Taiwanese child whose parents speak little English
 4 students who have been retained at some point
 1 who despises reading but his parents are sure he should be reading chapter books

All in all, it's an interesting and challenging group. All the kids that aren't accounted for seem to be very sweet, mannerly and willing to do anything I ask of them. So far.

It's going to be a good year!

My summer has been amazing and it isn't over yet! Nope, I still have a few days left, even if they are peppered with meetings and my mind is on prepping for school. I want to take a minute and review all the interesting things I have found/learned this summer.

1. A use for Twitter - I finally found a purpose for it, and that is Professional Development. This summer I was able to connect with other teachers, librarians, authors, and organizations that are in line with what I do a living. So much fun to be connected to the big wide world out there. I think our hours on Twitter should count for back to school inservice.

2. Diigo - on online bookmark for websites. Imagine if you could take your favorites with you onto any computer. You can! You can also create lists and annotate so you know what you are looking at.

3. www.ipl.org - an amazing resource for information that is authoritative and easy to use. It will be an opening screen on my school computers this year.

4. The Book Whisperer - This is a book written by Donalyn Miller that explains why I think we should read books in reading class, instead of do worksheets ad nauseum and play games and talk instead of think. It's like someone took my idea, wrote the book, got it published, and did all the work so people could know what I think.

5. I have not found my next "favorite" "addicting" "amazing" book. I think it just hasn't been written yet. But I am still looking. I have read a lot of "eh,ok" and some "waste of my precious summer" books.

6. Jonathan Friesen - an author with a Christian world view. You can follow him on Facebook with some combination of his name and the word "author". He just published a book called Aquifer with Zondervan's Blink (YA) Publishing. I read snippets and it looks really good. I also got to chat with him at a virtual conference in July. He has Tourette's and a heart for Jesus.

7. The director of the Percy Jackson movie, Thor somebody, and Tamora Pierce, queen of fantasy writing, each answered a question I submitted and it was like they were talking to me! So fun to have a touch with "the big leagues".

8. Getting away from academic and vocational stuff, I learned that my kids are amazing. Not because they are cute or funny or smart. They are amazing because they get along, most of the time. They are amazing because they entertain themselves. They are amazing because they understand that when I say "Take some initiative and do something" I mean "go do chores without me telling you what needs to be done." They are still working on it, but they are learning and I see a great future for them. Future wives, you are welcome.

9. Teaching you child how to make coffee can be an emotional experience. It's a family right of passage.

10. I never want my snuggler to outgrow his need to crawl up in my lap and give me a big ol hug. I'm sure when he is 6 ft tall, I will feel differently, but for now, I want to hang on to those last remaining pieces of childhood. I am really going to miss this stage of life with him.

Those are the top 10 things I discovered this summer. It has been a great break from the routine. I'm still not ready to head back, but at least I know I used my summer well. Living a life of no regrets is a powerful thing.

T minus

T minus 2 weeks.. and counting. This is the time of year I get all squiggly and nervous and regretful and anxious. There are two weeks until I have to report back to work. Yay for summer! But now I have to make hard choices. Go into the school  and work on my room so that the children will have a pleasant place to learn or stay in my pajamas and watch Netflix? Finally take my car in early for that oil change that is more than a little over due or sleep in? Stare regretfully and the piles of things that didn't get cleaned, organized, or thrown out this summer or half heartedly throw stuff away until the trash can is full to the brim (and then stare regretfully at all that is left and wonder why it doesn't look cleaner)? Grocery shop with the future in mind, stocking up on the sale stuff so I can be prepared in a few weeks when I don't have time to think, or continue the summer once a day trip to the grocery as my whim strikes?

I am not ready to kick life back into gear. Honestly, summer vacation is my dream life. What would I do if I had to get a job that didn't have a long break in the middle of the year? I have no idea. I have been on a school schedule, nonstop, since I started school when I was 5. Not a year off. Straight through. For 35 years. Looking at it like that makes me want a drink of something more powerful that Dr Pepper.

I have choices to make tomorrow that will define my week. I'll let you know how it goes.

Initiative - learned or genetic?

I had a talk with the children today. It was a while in coming. You see, it's time to take a step forward. It's time for some independence... for Mom.

I've had several conversations recently with family and friends about kids taking initiative in personal responsibilities. Is it personality driven or a learned behavior? Gender related? I have no idea. What I do know is that I am sick and tired of having to tell them to do their chores, which chores to do, and manage the whole buffet of household "whatnot"ery.

Today, I made a list of all the chores they knew how to do.  It's mighty fancy (NOT). We talked about how I was going to be really busy in a month or so with two classes of graduate work and starting a school year with a new team member. About then it started to dawn on the kidlets that something out of their experience was coming. I asked them to help think of ways to make the dreaded chores automatic in their lives, so I wouldn't have to direct them. They didn't get it. "But Mom, we always do what you tell us to do." "What if I didn't have to tell you?" "Then how would we know to do it?" Exactly.

I got a sinking feeling in my tummy that this is going to be a long road to walk. I used the floor as an example. I hadn't told anyone to sweep in an embarrassingly long time and it was nasty. I asked them to look at it and see what I meant about "if you see it needs doing, get it done". They looked at me with wide innocent eyes and proclaimed "It looks fine Mom". Hmmm, they really didn't see the dog hair, dirt, crumbs, leaves, toys, and used Kleenex under the coffee table.

Taking the initiative requires the knowledge that something needs to be done. Somehow, the fact that something ALWAYS needs to be done is not in their personal encyclopedia of general knowledge.

So, I am embarking on an experiment to see if I can teach two good little boys how to take initiative and just get it done without me telling them to do it.

Stop Laughing! Let a girl dream a little!

The Summer Life

The Summer Life, it's a whole different world. It does amazing things in our family. We spend time together. We play games. We watch amazing amount of television. We go places. We don't feel run by schedules and alarms. We relax and ride the waves of life, much like a lazy river at a water park.

Our schedules, which are unashamedly rigid during the school year, get much less apparent, nonexistent you might say. For example, my 10 pm Cinderella type self was wide awake after 12:30 am this morning. I only went to bed because the poor husband had to go to work in the morning. During the school year, I am up around 5:30 am, 6:00 if the alarm doesn't go off. I woke at 9:15 this morning (after being awake for a bit while the poor husband got ready and left for work).

The dark circles under my eyes go away in the summer. The twitch in my right eye disappears, too. I cook more often. I look for healthy instead of fast foods, sometimes. I answer "sure, why not!" much more often when the kids ask for something or to do something. I forget to eat lunch at lunch time and usually end up having linner or dunch. I read a lot of books and see movies. It's a good life.

This summer has been a lot of traveling, but is finally settling down. We have gone some amazing places, but I am happy to be home for a while. After about 2 weeks at home, I usually feel the need to clean stuff. So, that should be happening pretty soon. I hope. I really want to have the compulsion to keep a clean and tidy house. But that bend in the lazy river of life has yet to arrive. Until then, we will float along doing what needs to be done.

Taking college courses is a new thing this summer. I am currently in a class about reference services in the library and have several projects to complete, along with some traditional paper activities. It's a really informational class. I still have a lot to do in the next 2 weeks. I find it hard to switch back and forth between studious student and laid back Mom, but it is working out. I love to geek out and learn stuff. I love to be a lazy lump and vegetate. It is my Summer Life. And I like it!