Reflections

I work at a school that has a very close knit staff. Frankly, it is one of the main reasons I stay at the school. I simply love the people I work with. It is as close to a family as one can get... honestly I spend more time with these people during the school year than I do with anyone in my family.

We've had a great deal of loss over the past years. We lost a friend and coworker last year. Several of the teachers have lost their spouses to terrible illnesses and accidents. Sadly, I just heard that another staff member has lost her husband after a long battle with illness. My heart breaks for her. We've taught on the same team for the past 8 years. She truly is an amazing mother and wife and some how always found time to do it all. She has three children, the youngest of which will be a sophomore in college this fall. They were living the American Dream... their youngest child was "out of the nest" and they were ready to start living their lives together, just the two of them. They have raised their children well and deserved to live and experience life together. My only solace is the fact that they had the summer to spend together and say their goodbyes. I know that Hospice was a big part of making that possible for them. Please keep Patti and her family in your thoughts as they grieve their father and husband.

It is events like this that make me question my faith more than ever. I have often wondered why Chris and I have been dealt the hand of infertility while we long to have children. Here is a family that has been blessed with three children, and now have lost their father. These are good people... I think Chris and I are good people. Why does it seem that the "bad stuff" always happens to good people? Chris and I have strayed from the church in our struggle, but I know so many who have strong faith and are active in their church and still suffer much. I am just not sure that I can believe.

Another one of my coworkers and close friends lost her husband a few years ago after a battle with brain cancer. They, too, have 3 amazing children. Her faith is so very strong in spite of her immeasurable grief. She is an inspiration to me, not just for her faith, but in the way she lives her life. I always joke that when I grow up I want to be just like her. She and I have had several conversations about faith and about God. She always tells me that it is okay to be mad at God.. that he can take my anger. And today I am angry. Not for me, but for my friend and her children who will have to become adults and learn to live life without their father and husband.

I am grateful to have Chris in my life. He is my best friend and so much more. We struggle to get along at times, but that is who we are. It's strange how the loss of my coworkers spouse makes me reflect on our infertility and our loss. It's not the same kind of loss, but it is loss. And so I remember today all that we have lost and hope that we will have some resolution to that loss someday.

Go Matt Grevers!

Chris and I had an amazing opportunity last night to watch the Olympics with the Grevers' family and friends. We spent over 2 hours in the car to get downtown (unprecedented traffic with no reason!) and get our spot at ESPN Zone. In the end, there were probably more than 200 people there all cheering on Team USA and this young man. It was surreal to watch the swimming among so many other like minded people who are as obsessed with the sport as we are. Matt's mom was one of the first coaches for the team Chris coaches now. The family is very involved with local swimming as his brother and sister both coach local teams.

What a night to watch swimming, too! Team USA won three golds in a matter of minutes it seemed. The air was electric waiting for the 100 back finals. I don't think I have EVER been somewhere that loud in all my life. What an amazing race it was! While we all hoped Matt would beat Piersol, everyone was thrilled that he won the silver medal. His brother and sister were almost speechless as the cameras all panned to them. Several local news teams were there to witness the event and there were snippets of the party on all of the local news channels.

We had a wonderful adventure and don't regret the 3 1/2 hours we were in the car. We headed home and watched what was left of the live coverage. We finally headed to bed around 1 am. This is what this summer has been all about... adventures and time together.

Chris is off hanging banners at the pool today and I think I will head out to Target for some school shopping. I am so grateful to have these extra two weeks this summer!

Team USA!

It's no secret that swimming is a big part of my life. Every four years we have the excitement of the Olympics that shows of our sport to all of the world. Everything else on our TiVo has been erased to make room for the Olympics. We eat, sleep, and breathe Olympics here!

Last night was an amazing race in the 4 x 100 men's relay. I am so glad that we were able to watch it live. For those of you who are not swimming fans, this race will go down in history for many years. Jason Lezak came back and swam the FASTEST RELAY SPLIT IN HISTORY to win the gold for Team USA. This is even more sweet considering the French were talking smack and said that they would smash Team USA. Just didn't happen! We had all the windows open and I am sure that the neighbors knew exactly what was happening in our house.

Tonight we are heading downtown to watch the finals of the 100 back. One of our local swimmers, Matt Grevers, is in the race. He is the underdog behind Aaron Piersol, but we have high hopes for him! It will be fun to watch some of the swimming with like minded people... those who are entrenched in the swimming world.

Other than the Olympics, we have spent some time with friends enjoying the dwindling days of summer. Chris is running miles and miles preparing for the marathon. We spent the day at Great America yesterday taking in a few shows and games. It was very crowded, so the lines for the rides were ridiculous! After some pizza and beer we headed home to watch the Olympics of course!

I've finished my first reading assignment for class and have my first real class on Wednesday. I am grateful to have two full weeks left before school starts for me. I will head in later this week to start cleaning and getting things set up. I can honestly say that I am ready to go back. I am re energized and ready to start a new year. Of course if I had to go back tomorrow, I might not be saying the same thing!

Off to enjoy a BEAUTIFUL summer day here.

It's official!

I am now officially a student again! YIKES! I am heading back to school for a master's degree in reading and literacy. I have wanted to go back to school for years, but the timing just wasn't right and our focus was on building our family. I finally decided that I was tired of having my life on hold so I started looking at graduate school programs.

I started looking at online options, but eventually decided on a classroom format. It is held at the local community college which has a "university center" where larger schools come in and offer graduate and bachelor programs. I will have class one night a week with an online component as well. It will be intense... each 3 credit class is only 5 weeks long. It will be worth it though... I am set to be all done by the end of November next year. Not too bad... 14 months for a masters degree.

One of my coworkers and good friends is going to do the program with me. I am excited that there will at least be someone I know! She is out of town this week so she will miss the orientation but will be back for the first class next week. It will be nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of and to do projects with.

I am nervous and excited... it has been more than 10 years since I was last a student. I know I am at my best when I am busy so I hope that things will all fall into place. It HAS to be an easier year at school this year... I can't have another year like the last one!

I am off to enjoy my last real week of summer. Where did the time go?

I am so proud of this man...

Chris' swim season came to a close this weekend with the state age group championships (formally known as the Junior Olympics). It is hard to believe that it was just a year ago that we made the decision for him to leave the YMCA and focus on coaching full time. What a year it has been! His goal was to have his team finish in the top 15 of the state. Last year this team was 26th. It is a three day meet in Chicago, so he stayed downtown. The meet is LONG so it only made sense since he would have spent 3 more hours a day driving back and forth. When I talked to him on Friday he was feeling down because a few of the kids had not had the best swims. He had a few good swims, and one state champion on Saturday so things looked up a tad. :-) I knew I needed to be there to support him for the final day. What an amazing day it was! One of his swimmers took first place in two more events and the swimmer's brothers each placed in events too. Chris was just beaming. This is a family that has truly got it all figured out. Not only are the three boys amazing swimmers, they are also great young men. The kind of kids you just want to be around. Chris had the pleasure of presenting the medals to his state champion twice yesterday.

In the end, Chris' team ended up in 10th place overall out of 70 or so teams! This is a huge accomplishment and really solidifies that he is doing just what he is meant to do. I couldn't be more proud of this man and all he has accomplished. Not only did he meet the goal, he has created a climate within this team that is just amazing. These kids want to be around each other and Chris and strive to be amazing young people. Even after spending three LONG days together (14 hours each day!) they still wanted to get together last night to celebrate before heading home. Of course that meant we didn't get home until after 1 am this morning.

He is sleeping soundly now. Only two more days of practice and then he has some time off. Of course I have one week until things start really getting busy for me. But it will be nice to have some time this week just to hang out around the house.

Wordle

This is addicting... but look at the pretty things you can create!

Tagged

One of my closest friends from High School and I have reconnected courtesy of email and blogger. She just had the cutest little man in the world... who also happens to be named Christopher. Anyway, she "tagged" me on her blog.

10 years ago: August 1998
I was getting ready for my second year of teaching at Antioch Lower Grade School (now Antioch Elementary.... Lower Grade is a rotten name for a school, isn't it) I had a year under my belt and thought I knew it all! I think Chris was still working at Hastings YMCA, but I don't remember. We had one dog- Patches and one cat- Simba We aren't even thinking about having kids yet!

5 years ago: August 2003:
Getting ready for another school year... this time at Carl Sandburg where I have been since. Who knew I would fall in love with the middle school age group? I am so grateful I stumbled on this job in 2001. I work with amazing people and have made so many close friends. Chris was working at Leaning Tower YMCA in Niles. Long commute and things were starting to get ugly with the Metro YMCA association. We lived in our current house. Still only one dog and one cat! We were deep in infertility treatments. We were healing and going strong into another treatment cycle.

5 months ago: March 2
Hmmm... in the middle of ISAT testing I think. Chris was a the peak of his winter swim season and I had yearbook deadlines. I was preparing to run my first (and ONLY) 8k. We now have TWO dogs and a cat. Chris is coaching full time for Warren Blue Devil Swim Club and LOVES it. We've been on a "break" from infertility treatments for a year or two. We are healing from the failed adoption in October still.

5 things on my to do list for today:
1. Vacuum again. (Can I saran wrap the dogs to keep the shedding down?!)
2. Finish cleaning my studio
3. Spend some time with my friend Megan playing in my studio
4. Get the dogs out for some exercise if it stays nice and not too hot
5. Stalk the ISI Swimming Results page to track how Chris' kids are doing at the State Champs

5 bad habits:
1. leaving my shoes all over the house
2. eating anything chocolate
3. spending too much time on the computer doing NOTHING
4. watching train wreck TV
5. leaving shampoo bubbles all over the shower (Chris HATES that!)

5 places I've lived:
1. Round Lake Beach, IL
2. Houston, TX
3. Crystal Lake, IL
4. Bloomington/Normal, IL
5. Antioch, IL

5 things people don't know about me:
1. I am not a fan of birds. I am not really afraid, but I don' t care for them AT ALL
2. I once almost got into a bar fight with a little person (!)
3. I am a tad claustrophobic
4. I wanted to be a pediatrician or an interior designer when I grew up (can you say opposites!)
5. I can't watch scary movies... they give me nightmares. (My students make so much fun of me!)

5 people I tag:
I don't think I have 5 readers! LOL
1. Gloria
2. Kellie
3. Beverly
4. ???
5. ????