Texas Might Have Oil...

but I haven't come up with much else that makes me want to live here.  The heat is oppressive, the drought has everything brown and crispy, and the people who have to go out into the heat are pretty cranky.  So, as well as re-learning how to play cribbage (and getting trounced every time), I've been looking at things for school. 

I love teaching!  I love thinking about what I'm going to teach.  I love thinking about how I'm going to teach it.  I love getting the classroom ready and figuring out what kind of arrangement will work best with what I've been told about the kids who will be in my class.  And I especially love knowing that in just a few short weeks the kids will be coming into the room and the excitement of a new school year will be here.

I don't know how I got lucky enough to be a teacher.  I know it had something to do with the fact that after moving to West Branch and not being able to find a job I had to find something to do with myself.  School seemed to be the answer.  Unfortunately, once I registered for classes I found out I was pregnant - not something I was looking forward to because there were already 5 kids at home (including 2 foster kids). 

Don't get me wrong.  I love kids.  I mean I really love kids.  I love the way they think and the things they think about.  I love their grubby little hands and their dirty little faces.  I love it when they get to giggling so hard they can't breathe.  But what I didn't love (and still don't) is the fact that in my house they always followed me to the bathroom and perched on the heater to tell me what was going on in their life when I just wanted some privacy.  I think they figured out pretty quickly that I used the bathroom as a way to avoid kids.

So, going to school (at the age of 35) to get a degree in education seemed like the way to go.  And now, many years down the road, it definitely was the right thing to do.  I am so excited to be getting ready for another school year.  I sleep a little less, but have more energy.  I organize my notebooks and folders and drive my family crazy with papers, books, and ideas. 

I know how lucky I am to be doing something that I absolutely love and I am grateful for all of the challenges that teaching presents!