Jumpin' Off the Edge

Upon first thought, watching a parent age sucks. Unnoticeable at first. A bit of a stoop, some creaking in the knees, whitening of the hair. The doctor’s visits begin, as do the pills One for high blood pressure, another to thin the blood, and a handful of vitamins to top it off. The signs are there, but it is easier to see him as he has always been. My father, a pillar of strength. Until my pillar was knocked off-kilter. A simple surgery and the mortality of my father looked me square in the eye when the drugs took hold of his brain. Amidst his fidgeting and confusion, I realized…AGING SUCKS! And then….enlightenment dawned upon me….AGING IS BEAUTIFUL Wrinkles tell of smiles while silver hair speaks a life of memories. Knees creaky after years of kneeling in prayer, offering up a lap, and climbing up the stairs for one more kiss goodnight. Almost forty-eight years of memories nestled in my heart. Memories of my father. Taking us to church each Sunday Building and fixing

Yup! This entry is going to be totally cliché. After all, it is that time of year where we stop and think about what we are thankful for in our lives. So here it is. My list of thankful. 1.    One less kid home for the holidays Sean won’t be coming home for the holidays this year. He has been with me every year at Christmas since 1988. I will miss him dreadfully. However, I am so very thankful that he will be spending the holidays honoring fallen soldiers. I am thankful for the man of repute he has become. Most of all, I am thankful he is not one of the fallen. 2.   Unemployment Tony does not have a typical job down here. A few days a week, he drives a rickshaw for tips only and substitutes whenever he gets the opportunity. While we never know what we can count on for the budget, I know I can count on him to be there for the girls; to clean the house; to get the vacuuming done; and so much more. I cannot even fathom how he could enjoy working inside the home. The coo

‘Tis the season. The season when we stop to think about all that we are thankful for before transitioning into the season of giving. I would like to think I am both a thankful and giving person. However, upon taking some time to reflect today, I realized I am not neither as thankful nor as giving as I would like to be. The last six weeks I have been guiding my 8 th grade students through a service learning project in my Research class. The majority of my students are coming to me with stories of great experiences while volunteering their time. Many have spent more time at their community service than the three required hours. I, on the other hand, have done nothing. Some might count the time I spend tutoring my students as community service; I consider it as part of being a good teacher. While I have dropped a few bills into a panhandlers cup and donated to a local charity, that doesn’t warm my heart the way getting involved does. For the last ten years or so, I have been talk

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.                    ~Margaret Mead         Invisible Children came to Franklin Academy today. There was little to no hype beforehand from me. As a matter of fact, I was a bit apprehensive about their visit. Many of the students are very sheltered. What would parents say about showing their children a film about the effects of war in northern Uganda? Was I putting my job at risk?  What would students take away from the experience?       To prepare my students, I showed them a music video by Fall Out Boy. ( I'm Like a Lawyer Always Trying to Get You Off ) The writing that came as a result was beautiful. They were hungry to hear more about it. The time for the presentation finally arrived. Almost 300 students crowded into the theater, in chairs and on the floor, not knowing what to expect. I introduced Jessica wondering if they would focus on th

Each and every day I step into my classroom, I am aware of the impact I am having on students. The way I treat to them is often mirrored back at me. I choose when to encourage through extra pushing and when to celebrate the victory. I greet them each and every day with a smile and belief that they can achieve. This past week, I realized I also have an effect on the teachers around me as well. As teachers, we have very little time to talk. We may have time for a quick hello in the halls between classes. Often, emails carry the brunt of our conversation. If we are lucky, some of us have lunch together. In those snippets of time that we share, I have a choice. I can whine and complain with shoulders drooping about all that I need to accomplish and how Friday never comes soon enough, or I can smile and be light-hearted. I have decided on the latter. Recently, I have been chatting with a few of my colleagues. Teachers that have a passion for what they do. Teachers who believe in

A month! I can hardly believe it has been so long since I have written. This is my third attempt to find what needs to be said. Will it be the final one? Doubtful. (Strange enough – it was the last one!) Silence has invaded my mind. An uncertainty has crept in…I share the whispers of my soul with the world. Is it time to keep them to myself? I have never before been concerned about speaking my mind. Yet, I find myself holding back when it comes to writing about my passion – teaching. What if my philosophy doesn’t jive with one of my readers? More importantly, what if one of my readers is one of my supervisors. This disquiet is unwelcome, yet I can’t seem to let go of it. I write to settle the swirling in my head. I share because, for some reason, there are people out there who are interested in what I have to say. There is no doubt that I love what I do. I can’t imagine filling my day with anything else.   In the 18 years that I have been teaching, my job as an educator has