13 huh?

David and I celebrated 13 years of marital bliss yesterday. No kidding. 13 years.

It has flown by. 1 apartment. 3 houses. 2 kids. 1 dog & 2 guinea pigs (we no longer have any). something like 8 cars (we have only two now). 7 jobs. And landmarks galore.

The numbers don't do us justice. He is sweet, loving, thoughtful, hard working, quiet, tolerant, calm, passionate, strong, dedicated, confident, understanding, supportive, handsome, and more.

I can only strive daily to deserve him. I am thankful for David and for our life together, and I'm looking forward to a lifetime.

what I learned today

I spent today at school... in a classroom... with 21 third graders. What did we learn? Well, I learned that kids are still mean. Not in the media-hyped, gang-violence-is-ramping-up-in-suburbia kind of way, but mean none the less. It's the mean we all try to forget at reunions: name calling, I'm not your friend today, we-don't-have-to-listen-to-a-sub mentality. Lovely.

Today I learned to be a more understanding mom. I understand what my boys see all day at school and I understand that positive reinforcement works far better than changing colored cards for most kids. I learned that some kids are not going to care what's in the treasure box. I considered that there will be kids who are so conditioned to being blamed (or spoken harshly to) that in most circumstances they will test the boundary because they believe it's their role.

The greatest part of today? Hugging my boys. I want them to see the controlled adult who loves them so much, so unconditionally, so infinitely. I want them to be secure in who they are so that they might be confident in the role they wish to create for themselves. Dream big. Live large. Love more. Hug often. Laugh out loud.

Boys, I love you more than....

everything.

Go Frogs!

am not!

Really, I'm not...

I've been reading past blog entries, wondering if I can uncover the reason I haven't been drawn to it lately. I'm trying to decide if there's an underlying issue that becomes crystal clear in my writing, as in "hind sight is 20/20." Well, it seems that I write about negative stuff in an attempt to make it lighter, humorous or to convince myself that I'm right. I'm not.

I'm not negative. At least I don't want to be.

21 days to change a habit, right?

That's the focus for the next 21 days, along with not snacking on massive amounts of sugar every day from 2-4 PM (my "issue" time). :-)

Life is short. Smile. A little sugar is okay, too.

what should i do with the rest of my life?

I believe I missed two opportunities in my life, at least two. I was organizing some documents and found my original SAT scores. Do you remember back in high school? Well, I didn't. Apparently when I registered for the SAT in my junior year, part of the process asked me to select 4 interest areas (for my selected colleges to note possible majors, I assume). The funny thing is - well, it's a sad thing now - that I didn't even consider those as majors when I actually got to college. Now, 17 years later I have come full circle... back to those interests. Yet, I have responsibilities to balance that make some choices more difficult than they might have been.

First, I took an EC-6 content exam last Saturday as the first step in my working toward my teaching certificate. I'm confident in my ignorance. Now the decision is whether to enroll in an alternative certification program or apply to a masters program.

Then, as I checked my email tonight, deleting most of the subscription-type receipts, I came upon one article about "24 companies hiring now." As I scrolled down the list, one caught my eye. It is an online news/editorial company searching for writers on a variety of topics. On a whim, I completed the application. I gave my specifics, admitted that I have no credentials however I have a passion for words and for exploring relationships, and even wrote a sample article based on something that happened today.

Who knows how all this will turn out? I love to write. I enjoy & feel called to teach. I have a loving and supportive system and the future is bright. Perhaps 17 years was the break I needed to get my head around the choices I need to make for me. Maybe?

one person's trash

I think I've blogged about this before: the treasures I find on the street while I walk (or run) through our neighborhood. Yesterday I cleaned the desk off and threw away maybe 20 nails & screws. I saved the pennies and one dime. For luck, you know? Then, in the afternoon I went on another run and found more loot: two pennies, two nails, two screws, one metal spring and a little nut.

Isn't that just perfect? For me, at least. Daily, I feel a little "off," like a spring is missing or has lost its springiness. The rusty nails could represent how old I feel lately. The screws... well, this one's easy. I open my mouth and the words that come out occasionally back me into a corner and I spend the next week "rain manning" about it (rocking back and forth saying, "uh oh, uh oh"). Finally, the little nut? Self explanatory.

While all of that seems that I'm down on myself, I'm pleased that perhaps a few of my neighbors avoided flat tires because I picked up these items. That I was able to turn it into a blog... it's your lucky day. Thank the pennies.