Am I There Yet?

I have been super busy the last few days.  On Wednesday, I went to the International Newcomers Academy in Fort Worth to observe three different classes.  I was able to observe two middle school classes and one ninth grade class.  What an experience it was.  The students that attend this school are so eager to learn our customs and language it is truly amazing.  I met students from all over the world; Mexico, Nepal, Africa, Burma, etc.  Many of these students have only been here a matter of days and some weeks.  I can only imagine how much anxiety these students must experience, being uprooted from their native country and brought thousands of miles, on the other side of the world, to a country that they know little or nothing about.  It definitely was an experience that I will remember always.

On Thursday, I went to Fort Worth Country Day, with my honors computer class, to visit with the computer lab teacher and all I can say is WOW!  The students that are privileged enough to attend this college prep school are learning so many amazing things.  I was blown away by what first graders were able to do.  There are not many first graders that I know that can do their own Excel spreadsheet.  My classmates and I really enjoyed our visit of this campus.  We learned so much and we all came away with aspirations of one day having the opportunity to teach here. 

I am so excited and ready to make my mark with my future students. Some days it seems years away when in reality, it could be within a year.  I cannot wait!

Thank You Lord!

Do you ever have those moments that make you stop and think that could have been me? What about the ones that make you thankful for going a different direction than you originally were going to take?   Well, this happened to me less than an hour ago. 

I had just dropped my son of at school and was heading over to Bryant Irving to help a friend clean a house.  The route I decided to take was one that would take me past my house.  I decided to go this route because I thought it would be faster than going through Crowley.  When I stop and think about it now, I really needed to go that way so that I could stop at Kroger and get gas because I am on empty.  For some reason I totally forgot about this at the time and set out on my merry way, watching the rain glistening off the trees and grass as I drove through the countryside.  I even caught a glimpse of a faint rainbow in the east.  Here I am driving, listening to the radio, and I pass the street where I live.  As soon as I pass it, my battery warning light comes on. This has never happened to me before so since I was close to home, I thought I would turn around and have my husband check it out .  I turned into the gas station that is down the street from my road and could barely turn left.  I started to panic because then I knew something was really wrong.  There for a minute I thought I was driving an old, classic car that did not have power steering.  (Who ever invented power steering should receive an international award or something.)  I finally get turned around and headed back the half a mile to my street.  This was the longest half a mile ever, but I made it home safe and sound.

As soon as I pull in, park the car, and turn it off I can see steam rising from under the hood which is never a good sign.  I raised the hood and began to inspect for what the issue might be when instantly, water beings pouring from underneath.  I call my dad, who lives next door, and asked him to come over while I was waiting on my husband to get home from work.  We begin to fiddle with the radiator trying to see what it could be.  Well, it is my water pump.  Now my husband gets to have a water pump party instead of getting some much needed sleep.  Thank you dear!

After the diagnosis, I begin to reflect on how the mornings events could have turned out so differently.  I thank the Lord for gently directing us in directions that we may not have gone otherwise.  I think sometimes that this is his way of telling us we need to stop and smell the flowers more.  If I had gone any other way this morning, then I would not have been by my house and would have spent more than the $55 for a water pump to tow my car home.  Thank you Lord for knowing what we need when we need it.  I hope everyone has a blessed weekend.

RSVP, what is that?

                When did RSVP become an extinct term?  This respectful way of letting your hostess know that you will or will not attend a party are just letters on a paper these days.  The more modern “Regrets Only” sparks the same response, nothing.   These terms are driving me crazy this week.

                On Saturday, we are finally celebrating Victoria’s birthday with her classmates even though her birthday was December 13th.  (I know I deserve the mother of the year award.)   I usually have Victoria’s party the first weekend of December, but due to a scheduling conflict, I was going to move it to the next weekend which we still had something to do.  I decided that since she was going to be eight, I would ask her if we could move her party until after the Christmas break.  I did not want to schedule her party the weekend before Christmas because then her friends could have conflicts.  She did have a friend come over to spend the night and we went to the movies and ate pizza.  It was great.  Well, as you can see we are just now getting the opportunity to party.

                I prepared the invitations and instead of putting RSVP, I put “Regrets Only” as I have decided to do.  I started doing it this way because I would never get a response otherwise.  Out of 23 invitations that were handed out, I have only had one person to respond.  Does that mean that 22 kids will be showing up at the party site? My guess is not likely.  It would be nice to know how many to plan for.  I do not particularly care to purchase party favors or food for kids that are a no show.  As you can tell, I am a little irritated about this.  I want my daughter to have all her friends there to celebrate her birthday, even if it is late.  I suppose those that come are the ones that are meant to be there.  I only hope I survive. Party on!

Kids Today

What is it with children today?  With all the modern advances and advantages that are at their beck and call, I still hear, “I am bored, there is nothing to do!”  Really, how is that even possible?  You have satellite television with over 250 channels, a Wii gaming system with over 50 different games to chose from, your own personal DVD player (thanks Santa) with at least 100 different movies, board games, Barbie’s, coloring books, Nintendo DS gaming systems, etc., and they are bored. 

When I was a child, my sister and I would leave out in the morning and not come back until dark.  We would play in the clubhouse, ride horses, ride our bikes, play with the other neighborhood children, play Barbie’s, or we would make up something to do.  If we came home before dark, then our parents would think that there was something wrong.  We did not have all the modern advantages that children today have, but we had something even better.  What is that you ask?  We had our imagination!

Maybe I should consider moving away, out to the middle of nowhere, and live as if it was the 1800’s.  How do you think my children would react to that?  I bet I do not here “I am bored” again!