...taking a leap

My students have been told. The letter has been turned in. It's official. I'm super excited and scared silly all at the same time. Next year...drumroll...I will be teaching English at an all-girl school in Abu Dhabi! Whew!

There's a lot of history accumulated in 22 years in a district, especially such a small one. We have three schools--one each of elementary, middle, and high. I've worked in two of the buildings, and worked with folks from the third. As I said last fall, it's been time for me to move on for a long time, but my rut was getting pretty dang comfortable. The closer I got to retirement age...the more I was afraid I would turn into "one of those teachers" that others wonder about: "Isn't she about ready to retire?" "I don't know, but I sure wish she would!" So, to save myself from that fate (and others from having to work with a curmudgeonette) I decided to take a huge leap...and go somewhere totally different. Here, I teach students to speak English. (But I also speak Spanish.) There, I will teach students to speak English. (And I don't know a word of Arabic--yet.)

I broke the news to my students today, and their reactions were endearing. No doubt about it, I love these kids and will miss them. But I fall in love with kids year after year--and then they graduate and move on...and we all survive the transition. We will weather this change as well. I asked them to give me advice. One wrote "Keep a gun at your side at all times!" (Ummm...no.) Another expressed concern that my skin would get too brown. (Not a chance--I'd burn and peel repeatedly.) A girl worried that the food would be strange--what would I eat?? Most of them advised me to have fun, enjoy the adventure, and to never forget them. Good advice.

...spring break

I'm tired. The kids are squirrely.

There's not much creativity nor patience left in me. It's time for a change of pace, to rest, relax, and do something different for a few days. Ahhhh, spring break! (Starting right after I finish announcing the first home track meet tomorrow afternoon...)

...photography

I have long known that I am a "picture taker" and not a "photographer." I admire people who have a talent for capturing just the right composition, but don't seem to have the knack myself. Every now and then, though, I get lucky and one of my pictures turns out kind of cool. Like this one on our ride this morning:

Pure accident--I was trying to turn my camera off but instead snapped a picture of myself. The sunburst makes me smile. The rest of my pictures this morning were just that--pictures. Still...they chronicle an excellent spring ride with friends.

...Mr. I

Just when I think I've seen the last of him for awhile, Mr. Insomnia drops in for a late night rendezvous. He's overstayed his welcome. Again. My sister says that when he visits her, she knows she'll sleep well the next night. I wish.





"Fatigue is the best pillow." ~Benjamin Franklin (Not always, Ben, not always.)

"Many things--such as loving, going to sleep, or behaving unaffectedly--are worse when we try hardest to do them." ~ C.S. Lewis (You got it, C.S.!)

"Without enough sleep, we all become tall two-year-olds." ~JoJo Jensen (JoJo, how do you know me so well?)

...a ride in February

We've had a bit of a cold snap, accompanied by a brisk wind. I wasn't sure if anyone would want to ride today, so was glad to get a text from Greg. He said it was pretty warm out, considering what the temperature has been lately, and the wind wasn't too bad. We decided to take our chances.

It was lovely to be able to wear these:

instead of these:

but my feet would have been happier in these:

instead of these:

There was a delightful tailwind heading out of town, and a killer of a headwind coming back in. As we slogged along we played the "at least" game: At least it's not raining. At least it's not snowing. At least it's not blowing dirt in our eyes. At least the wind isn't shifting like last time when we never got a tailwind. At least we're riding and not spinning. A good ride.

...scanning my life away

Factoids:

• This is my 22nd year of teaching.


• I have accumulated a huge number of files in that period of time.


• Cleaning out said files is a enormous job.


• Personal scanners are relatively inexpensive.


• Thumb drives hold many, many, many files in an itty-bitty space.

Questions to ask myself:

• Have I used this material in the past 1, 2, 5, 10, or 2o years?


• Even if I have, is it worth the time it will take to scan it?


• How easily can I acquire the same or similar material online?

(I was sure that a scanner was the answer to my dilemma about what to do with my files. Now I'm not so sure. Oh dear.)

...Valentine's Day

This is what is spreading like a virus on Face Book right now: "For Valentines Day post a picture of you and your valentine as your profile pic and write the date you guys got together at the end of this post and copy and paste to celebrate the day of LOVE......"

So....here's the picture I posted:

9/9/07

(Our 30+ mile ride in the sunshine today was a fabulous way to say I {heart} you!)