We had a parent conference last week. Sort of. We--four teachers and a parent--were all there. Unfortunately, we spoke no Creole, she spoke little English, and we had no translator. So we sat around a round table in the small conference room and smiled at each other for 20 minutes. And asked repeatedly if the parent could understand ANY English. She smiled each time and squinted her eyes as she pressed her forefinger and thumb together to show us. "Um...no." We finally gave up looking for a translator and asked the woman if she could reschedule. This was all, of course, with many apologies. She stopped each one of us at the door, wrapped her arms around us, and kissed us on the cheek. This is why I love my school.

Last night's t.v. time was a complete delight. Sigh. I so needed that, especially when I realized this afternoon that sitting on the toilet was the highlight of the day because a) I was home; b) It was quiet; c) I didn't have to think about anything at all. Sigh. I caught a glimpse of my ever-expanding waistline in the mirror last night, and it dawned on me that I have to stop this trend. In the last 18 months I've managed to gain back the 40 pounds I lost 2 years ago. This summer I joined a local gym, and we were going fairly regularly. I bring my gym clothes with me each day with the hopes of stopping by on the way home. I just can't seem to get into a routine. I know that once I have an exercise routine down, the weight will come off fairly easily. That seems to be the trick for me. I can eat a diet of lettuce or ice cream and see the same results, but some time of the treadmill works wonders. If I can ever get there. My back seat is still stocked with this week'...

I'm stealing a quick minute before I surrender the computer over to my husband and get intimate with the couch for what I hope will be an entertaining Thursday night in front of the t.v. It's been a long day for me. Teaching at a struggling school is so much more work than I ever dreamed. Representatives from Tallahassee will be in our school next week to make sure we are doing what we are supposed to do. Since I teach non-English speakers, they WILL be in my classroom. My students count up to five times in the formula that determines school grades. I don't take that fact lightly. Neither does anyone else. My principal was in my room earlier this week. An administrative from the District was in today. This afternoon. On the day when I didn't get to eat lunch because I had to go to a "mandatory" insurance session. On the day when I had to scrap ALL my lesson plans because my students weren't ready for them. On the day when I had two girls in tears telling m...

My dear friend, Vic , and I have been having a most excellent conversation over the last week weaving through the web of politics and core values. Although outwardly we seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum, our core beliefs are so similar that I started to think we shared a brain. Or more appropriately, a heart. I've been thinking abouth the values of service to the greater good and authenticity, and I'm sure I'll share them in more depth in the near future. For now, I want to share with you a song I first fell in love with 13 years ago. This song was the catalyst for my journey of questioning the brand of Christianity I grew up with, and it perfectly states the core of what I believe and the way I want to live my life. I'm feeling a bit distant from it these days, and I needed the reminder of why I am here and the way I hope I live my life each day. I am only included the lines that seem the most pertinent to me now. You can check out the full lyrics here . I am...

Let me preface this by pointing out that we have a deaf, epileptic Great Dane, a one-eyed cat, and a slew of young cats outside that we just haven't been able to part with. Love for animals abounds here. It seems we have a critter fest going on around here lately. In mid-September there was the Great Goose Massacre courtesy of a visiting alligator. Two weeks ago we had the Invasion of the Bees that left nearly 100 dead bees in its wake. Last week was the Demise of the Rattler. Alan heard a strange sound when he walked out on the porch last Sunday. He thought at first that it was a large dragonfly caught in the screen. It turns out that it was a rattle snake, coiled up and ready to strike. He says that he will never get the rattling sound out of his head, but I think he was a bit more freaked out at the thought of watching one of the kittens get struck by the snake. (Bonsai was apparently completely willing to risk his life to investigate the snake.) His first words to me when he pi...

We had state testing today. This is rather insignificant except for the fact that my classroom was unreasonably cold and one student wanted her jacket. Since it was in her bookbag, I had to get it for her. I found her jacket nested beneath plastic bags filled with hair. My only thought was, "Hmm, so this explains why no one ever has paper in class and why it can take twenty minutes to find a pen." We may never get our classwork done or homework turned in. But thank God, we have extra hair!

Thursday night I flew to Ohio to help my grandmother with a yard sale. It's been an absolutely gorgeous weekend so far with bright blue skies, a light breeze, and changing autumn leaves. I love the 70/50 temperatures, especially since my dear husband is at home fighting mosquitoes and fog and soaking humidity. We went over to my cousin's house last night for an outdoor fire party. It was a blast. I love watching burning embers dancing in the night sky and the smell of smoke in the air. I still haven't decided if it's the lure of the weather or comraderie among friends and family, but I can't help but wonder why people ever leave this behind for Florida. But they do, and I'm certainly the result of such decisions. I'm having fun with my cousin's kids who found great joy in playing catch with me. This fun game involves me standing at one end of the yard and having two soccer balls and a football thrown at me at once. I wish I had a video of me trying to ca...

Okay, it's been so long now since I've posted anything significant here that it just feels a bit weird to even touch the keyboard. I don't know where to begin. I don't know when to stop. Ugh. I want to tell you about the untimely end of our pet geese. At the hands of a small alligator that showed up just long enough to help himself to a free dinner. And how it all happened right after we finally trained them to go back in their pen at night. And I really want to share about walking into my kitchen one afternoon and discovering more than 30 bees flying around. For three days I felt like I was living in a bad horror film. I wouldn't want to leave out some classroom anecdotes and story ideas. Then there's the excitement I felt seeing Three Rivers Stadium from a plane tonight. My mind is churning regularly even if my typing isn't.