Making Progress in my Studio!

It is hard to beleive that this is even the same room! Chris has been working hard to get the painting done. The color is very calming and the lighting is perfect. In the morning, I just go in there and turn on the light. I can't beleive that I will soon have my very own studio! The floor is done and we are hoping to get the built in desk done this weekend.

My current room is a MESS! I haven't scrapped in almost a month. I am hoping to get some time in there this weekend. I keep dreaming about what I am going to do in my new studio.... Chris had to tell me to go to sleep on Sunday... I was just too excited! I will have space to spread out, but I will also be able to teach classes again. My friends and co-workers are already asking when they can come! :)

Romeo wants to play too...

Rules?

Warning... this is a vent entry! ;-)

Maybe it is because I am a teacher. By nature, teachers like to enforce rules. One of the challenges in any teacher's room is getting kids to follow the rules and understand the consequences of breaking those rules. I don't know of a teacher that doesn't struggle with the concept in the classroom. Sure, most of us have good classroom management, but getting the kids to understand the need for rules is tough.

I think I might know why.... it seems that there are adults breaking rules everywhere. It is one of my biggest pet peeves. There is a reason behind the rules, really. Today I was at the Y (starting to really get into a workout routine) and went into the locker room to change. There is an "adult only" section. I love kids... but sometimes I just don't want a child staring at me when I am changing. I like to keep things clean and dry when I am changing... kids don't always understand. :-) There I am with another woman changing in the adult only area. The rest of the locker room is almost empty. In comes this woman with her young daughter. She walks right into the adult only section past the curtain and the signs. I resisted the urge to say something.... but come on....

Issue number two... one of the rules is no cell phones in the program areas. Has to do with camera phones... and the annoying factor. I am walking away on the treadmill and the lady next to me answers her cell phone... not once but TWICE! Again, I resisted the urge.

I know that it shouldn't bother me... but as a teacher it does. How can I teach children that they need to follow directions when so many adults don't?

Vent over.

Too much on my plate

It is the start of a new school year... (we are really already halfway into the first quarter, which means the year is 1/8th over!) I swore to myself that I was not going to get myself so overwhelmed this year. So much for that theory!

The students in my classroom seem to have more and more needs each year. It seems that I am having to recreate my lessons each and every year making more and more adjustments to meet the lower abilities of the students. You would think that after 5 years teaching the same program, I would be able to use some of the same materials. I can, it just seems that I need to adjust everything. I want to be the best teacher I can be... I think any good teacher always wants to be adjusting to the needs of the kids. There are so many things that I want to do with my students. I get all of these great ideas during the day. I just don't have the time to initiate or develop most of them. My mind is spinning... I just can't seem to get things done.

I am the first to admit that I am a Type A person. I love doing things and need to feel a sense of accomplishment. I am my best when I am busy. However, I need to learn to find the balance. I need to accept the fact that there will always be more that I can do. There will always be more creative teaching ideas, there will always be more projects here at home, and there will always be creative endeavors that I want to pursue. I can't do it all. Sometimes you just can't give 100% to everything. In the end, there is only a total of 100% to give anyway... so how can I give 100% to teaching, 100% to my home, 100% to my marriage, 100% to my creative side, and 100% to my family & friends? It just can't be done. I need to come to terms with that.

On another note, I am excited to be the captain for TEAM McCLURE for the Walk for Hope here in Chicagoland. We are walking in honor of an amazing and courageous woman, Barb McClure who is battling breast cancer. If you can, please check out our team and donate if at all possible:


I need to go grade some quizzes, clean up the mess that Romeo made in the living room today, and also finish the design for our Team McCLURE T-shirts. Dinner is in the microwave, too....

9/11

It seems fitting that I am finally updating today. Today marks five years since our life as Americans was forever changed. I am never really understood when my parents explained that they remembered exactly where they were when JFK was shot or other events in American history. Sadly, I now understand. I will forever remember the moment I learned about the horrible attacks of 9/11/01.

I was in my first year teaching at Carl Sandburg. I was reading aloud to my students. My assistant was out of the classroom taking care of some things. She came in and told me quietly what had happened. I was stunned. At first, we thought it was a terrible accident. When the second plane hit, it became obvious that this was a planned attack on America. I was torn between my own emotions and protecting the students. I put the kids to work and started researching online to see what I could learn.

I remember an overwhelming unsettling feeling. I didn't know anyone in the buildings or on those planes, but I was scared. All of the wars that had been fought in my lifetime we on far away lands. I was removed from all of it. This was different. Would a war be fought on American soil? Would my life be forever changed? What did this all mean for the long term?

I couldn't get ahold of Chris right away. Unfortunately, he was at our infertility clinic leaving a sample. When I finally got in touch, I just wanted him to come home and be with me. I was scared. However, he needed to stay at work and be at the YMCA for people to feel safe there. I was angry... I wanted him to worry about my safety. In hindsight, I was simply scared. I mean really scared... terrified!

In the days that followed, I was obsessed with the news. I watched HOURS of tv. I needed to get all of the information I could. Information has always been my #1 defense mechanism.

Today, five years later, I am so grateful to feel safe and secure in my home. Life is different now in many ways. We are at war and have been since that day. I know how blessed we are that the war has not physically landed here on American Soil. My political beliefs are strong, and I also know just how blessed I am to live in a country where we have freedoms to disagree with our leaders and not fear for our lives.

I am proud to be an American. I am grateful for the freedoms I have and for the people whose sacrifices make American safe and secure for us. My heart still aches for the families of those who were savagely taken from us on 9/11.

In the end, I will hug my family a little tighter tonight and reflect on how lucky I am to be an American.