Dyslexia Strikes Again!

"Graduating from Iowa," I joked, "I never thought I would ever be wearing an ASU shirt." During one of my last physical therapy sessions, I forgot my workout clothes and was outfitted with shorts and a T-Shirt. When I walked out, The joke about the T-shirt they gave me was met with quizzical looks from all the therapists, clients and my own children. "Mom, it isn't an ASU shirt, it says 'USA.'" Oops, dyslexia strikes again."

What Does the Fox Say?

Yesterday was the roughest day teaching with a kidney stone. Teachers and students worked furiously in the morning, and completed their battery of Top Scholar Tests. Then, the students edited and typed their personal narrative paragraphs during computer lab time. After that, the kidney stone moved. I am so thankful for my wonderful team (Carol Graves, Christy McGovern, and Larissa Strawn) who kept the class going when I was in pain. At the end of the day, I was reading quietly with a student outside the classroom while the others were supposed to watch a Bill Nye video on insects, I was summoned to  classroom. My ears perked, "That doesn't sound like Bill Nye." I walked into revelers (teachers and students) dancing to "What Does the Fox Say?" When the cat's away, the fox will play. Thank you, Arroyo and WESD for letting me lead a class like this.

On Spontaneity and Consideration

     "Power corrupts." I have prided in guarding myself from hogging power, but lately, I see evidence that I am the "hog in the log." I openly share that the assistants in my class are co-educators. This is my vision and ideal. Recently, I have made unilateral decisions without consulting them. If the impact of these decisions only affected me, I would be justified. However, these decisions impacted my teaching assistants, and resulted in me informing them on their tasks, limiting the dialogue because the decision was finalized." Kudos to my team that they supported me.

       The nagging feeling inside told me that I needed to pay attention and reflect. The enthusiastic, creative spirit wants to leap spontaneously on opportunities that emerge. However as the classroom teacher and leader, I need to practice my responses: "This is a great idea! I need some time to discuss this with my team. I will get back with you." This will consideration will show I respect the other members of my teaching team and help be more consistent with my ideals.      This reminds me of when Ed and I were getting used to marriage. When invited to social parties or events, I made commitments for both of us without first consulting my spouse. As I have to do now, I rehearsed a similar script.

London

Saturday-Had lunch at the Airport Millstream Pub. The beer was good, but the food and service was bad

Spent the night at the Country Inn and Suites

Had a coney dog at A&W with root beer in a frosted mug for dinner

Dessert was a Snickers ice cream bar

Sunday-Flew early on standby to Chicago

Ate breakfast at the hotel first

Broken Wings

I am working on my 100 pages of script. Julyn told me about Script Frenzy. It is like Nano month, but instead of writing a novel, I am working on a script for the month of April. I am almost half way done, but I am plugging away. I know that it gets harder and harder closer to the end like a marathon.

Sadness

I ate too much food today. I was over 200 calories over my goal of 1500 calories. Sigh! I love to eat. "Tomorrow is a brand new day with no mistakes in it." ("Miss Stacy, "Anne of Green Gables," L.M. Montgomery). I shall embrace that motto and try harder.

Transition

Coming Home

My husband, Ed, came home after being gone for a few days to Philadelphia to enjoy the NCAA Wrestling Tournament. The kids and I have enjoyed a few days of beautiful spring weather playing with their friends. I have missed him, I think of single parents who have to care for their children on their own and try to have personal balance. I am grateful for the parenting collaboratively. I recognize that I can do more to enhance that collaboration. While I have missed Ed's presence, I have also appreciated the time watching the children play.

Now that he is home, there is this strange period of transition where I notice everyone having "mini" melt-downs. I am reminded that re-entry can be bumpy. "Don't freak out, Kem!" Remember, it is part of the process. It will settle down soon enough.

I am spending the day preparing for my short trip to Guttenberg, Iowa on Wednesday where I will be teaching a paper batik workshop.