Just Us

Here I am. Leaving the sunshine and flexibility of summer behind for the first time Forced to unload armfuls of new ideas and lamination in the hallway So I can pat down pockets to locate my keys. Slowly I prop open the heavy door. With a quick flick, fluorescent lights flood this familiar space. The musty smell of books and untouched stacks piled high greet me Hello old friends. Here I am. Being a teacher would be awesome to have your summers off. They say. And here I am late Sunday night. Shuffling furniture can feel as heavy as the weight of this calling at times. Moving piles of new curriculum to their home And supplies as numerous as the individual needs that will soon fill this space. Here I am. Overwhelming feelings bring into focus the huge task ahead. Stress starts to creep in Threatening to suffocate and paralyze my best efforts. So much to do to prepare, so many needs, create the perfect space How to fit it all in, create the ideal schedule, communic...

A sweet friend of mine, who also happens to be a beautiful writer has been encouraging her followers to write. In the midst of all the turmoil going on in our small town....I’m brought to a pen and paper..or I guess my computer. :) I moved to this friendly little treasure of a town, Glenwood. Over ten years ago, I knew very few people and wasn’t sure if it would be a place I would call home for long.  It didn’t take long to realize this bustling little community was unique.  Not only did it have a smalltown Homecoming that somewhat resembled a national holiday and cute little business store fronts, it had these people. These rather strange, overly friendly people that would go out of their way to welcome a newbie or offer to shoulder a heavy load for a stranger they barely knew. These caring, hardworking people kept popping into my life, uninvited really. Ya know, there are lots of things people say about a small town. Small town living isn’t for everyone....everyone knows...

Many times I write a quick blogpost and it stays in drafts. This morning I came across this one...one I wrote right before the start of the school year. Funny how it spoke to me today. Praying it encourages you as well. Perspective -A particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view. As I begin this new school year, I've decided my word for the year will be perspective .  Over the past few weeks, the theme of how my own personal perspective impacts my life has continually surfaced through books I'm reading and through my own personal devotion time.  Here are a few thoughts that have been challenging me as I go into another school year: Though I cannot control what will happen in my day, I can control the perspective that I use to determine my attitude when unfavored things occur. Perspective: When I wake, am I waking with a grateful heart toward God for giving me another day to simply be here and breathe?  Am I choosing to wake grateful t...

Pulling sticky tacked posters off the wall......putting away books full of curriculum back on the shelf...... hours of entering grades and filling out several spreadsheets and filing. The hustle and bustle of the end of the year has officially settled in. Within a few days, kids will skip out of the school building doors with huge smiles, summer plans and carefree fun on their minds.  And the teachers are often feeling the exact same way on that last day, if we are being completely honest. However, contrary to what many people may believe to be true of teachers at the end of the school year...there is always an element of sadness for me as I close the chapter on each class of kindergarteners. In the craziness of the end being in sight, it is so easy to let the busyness steal the true joy of this time with my students. My word for the school year has been “intentional.”  It’s written outside my classroom door as a reminder and it has caused me to reflect often on how to foc...

Growing up as a teacher's kid, you would think I would have wanted nothing more than to follow in my mother's footsteps.  I even remember people saying, "Aw, you could just be a teacher like your mom!" You may be surprised to know....I honestly did NOT want to be a teacher from the beginning.  Of course growing up with three sisters, we played school A LOT.  But as soon as I saw the day-to-day life of my mom, an elementary school teacher, I quickly learned that being a teacher wasn't exactly as glamorous as our young minds had imagined.  Being a teacher was much more than making red checkmarks on a page and giving directions to my willing, well-behaved sisters. I would frequent my mom's classroom after school. She was always working long after the last bell and always had a full bag flung over her shoulder as she left school each night.  She would travel to one of our many school events, then come home and open her school bag to begin her work again, even in...

You don't know me, but I am but one in the great army of teachers that wake up each morning ready to take on the challenges that face our public schools today. You don't see me, but I arrive at school early to make sure I have everything in place so that not a minute of precious learning time is wasted with these dear little ones. However, my morning of planning is often interrupted by an ever-swinging door. The door swings open several times every few minutes to former students stopping by to share their latest successes, to show me their new kicks, or to just grab a hug before the day begins. Every once in awhile the door swings opens to a parent wanting to discuss his/her child's progress or a concern that needs my attention. The door also swings open to my colleagues, just checking in to remind me of a deadline or to ask a question about our new curriculum or assessments.  And....then my teaching day officially begins. As I prop open that ever swinging door, the real ...

That which seems evil, is it a cloud to bring rain, to bring a greater good to the whole of the world?   Who would ever know the greater graces of comfort and perseverance, mercy and forgiveness, patience and courage, if no shadows fell over a life?  I dare flip the cue card over and I make out the words on the backside, "See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life.  I have wounded and it is I who heal" Deuteronomy 32:39.  I nod.  I know. I know. And these truth words reconfigure the battlefield under my feet . ---From the Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts I love this quote from Ann Voskamp.  She has a way with making sense of difficult circumstances and pointing us back to scripture to ground our thoughts and feelings.  Never in my life have I experienced so many hard goodbyes in just one year.  And never have I heard the words so often, "I'm so sorry for your loss."  Never have I ...