I've almost completed this challenge! As you can see, I slacked off a bit at the end, but unlike the September challenge, I'm finishing this one! I'm doing the last few posts in one big, spectacular post. Ha! Maybe not so much, but let's finish this up...
November 27: If you could bottle up the perfect day, what would it look like?
My perfect day does not involve school. That should not be a surprise to anyone who knows me. While I enjoy my work and my students, I am a homebody at heart, and that's what I like the most. Now, home does not always mean at home, but it does mean hanging out with my husband. While this post is about being home, another perfect day involves Jackson, Wyoming and/or Yellowstone, or maybe Arches National Park. Future post, perhaps...
My perfect day begins without a wake-up call. Waking up without the assistance of an alarm, or a husband acting as an alarm; waking up naturally and slowly is how my perfect day begins. I also slept through the entire night! I get up, and shower and get dressed, and we go out to eat at one of two favorite breakfast places; Chestnut Cottage, or First Street Haven. Yum! After breakfast, we go for a walk, perhaps down along the marina, or maybe we head up to Hurricane Ridge. Once we are home, I head into my sewing room to work on a project. I am in the midst of working up my courage to begin sewing clothing again, but on this particular perfect day, it's all coming together. I am not sure if it's the knit wrap dress or a tunic, but I'm sewing it and it fits like a glove - note the emphasis. When I'm done in the sewing room, I head downstairs to get dinner started; tonight we will have Beef Bourguignon from Julia Child's cookbook. I've made it several times, and while time-consuming, it's worth it. Don't forget to dry off the meat. The evening will be spent knitting, talking, and watching DVR-ed shows so we don't have to bother with commercials. Also, we will have replaced our hot tub, so we can spend some time soaking and hanging out. By the time it's bedtime, I'm super relaxed, and ready for Sunday. Yes, this perfect day is a Saturday, and I do not allow school to intervene at all!
November 28: Talk about 1 opportunity that you are grateful in hindsight for having passed you by.
I was accepted into the administrative program at Western Washington University about ten years ago. At the time, I didn't have a master's degree, and looking back now, I wonder why I applied. I realized before I even signed up for one class that I wouldn't be attending. I realized that I felt an administrator was someone who had a vision, and I knew that at that time that wasn't me. I also realized that in order to be hired as an administrator, we would probably have to move, and with my husband established in his job, I wasn't willing to leave the area. I think I would have made a very decent vice principal, but honestly, with the way things are going in education today, I'm very glad I decided to continue on as a teacher-librarian.
November 29: We all know someone who inspires us to be better. Share that person.
I met Erin back in 1971. I was taking an Introduction to Education class at Wenatchee Valley College, and as part of the class I volunteered in two classrooms at the elementary school I had attended as a kid. Erin was teaching third grade at the time, and I worked in her class, as well as the other third grade teacher's room. She wasn't that much older than I was at the time, and was in her second year of teaching. We hit it off, and I ended up volunteering in her class for the next year, and I also did my September Experience in her classroom.
Erin is the best teacher I know. I have always admired her organization, and the kinds of things she did with her students. Erin has taught third, fourth, and fifth grades, and I also worked in her fourth grade room. She worked at Washington Elementary until her retirement, and even then she did long-term subbing at the school. In addition to teaching, she has continued to volunteer for the elementary track program. Often Erin would walk to school on a Saturday morning, just to get things done. (No No-Saturday rule for her!)
Erin is one of my dearest friends, even though I get on the neglectful side of things. She is a much better friend than I am, I'm afraid. She is unfailingly kind, always interested in what's going on in my life, works at her church, and loves her grandson, who is a real cutie. We've gone to quilt shows together, and I have a pattern for a cathedral window pillow that was a craft her mom always did. A few years ago. when there was a forest fire very close to our cabin, she was the one who gave us a call to let us know what was going on. I'll never be a nice as Erin is, because she always looks on the bright side of things, and I'm somewhat of a mouthy, sarcastic cynic who keeps a swear jar on my desk. Why she has put up with me for so long is a mystery, but she has always been someone to look up to for me. If I could just convince her to get on the Internet...
November 30: Practice an act of kindness this week and blog about your experience
This is something I'll have to write about later!
Thanks, Te@chthought, for the blogging challenge! I'm looking forward to the next one!
1 comment:
Well done to complete it. Its great to stick at something, hey?
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