Five Weeks and Counting....

We just finished our fifth week of school. Hard to believe. I remember when it took FOREVER to get from one birthday to the next. Once, when I was around 14, I mentioned this to a youth leader at my church. He told me, "Just wait until you hit 21. You won't believe how fast time will go by then." Boy was he ever right.

My current count of students with ADHD is up to six. I am running out of room arrangements to accomodate their need to have their own spaces. I like to put desks in groups of six, and I have done so for years, but that does not appear to work with this particular group. The more kids I have to put into their "own space," the smaller my room becomes.

This class seems to be better behaved than my previous class. There are several who have the potential to be major pistols, but I am keeping them on a short leash. So far it's working, so cross your fingers. A parent wrote me the nicest email this week about how much she appreciated my structured class and high student expectations. I wrote her back to thank her for taking the time to email me. Parents always let you know when they don't like something, so it is always especially nice to hear compliments. I even keep a file of such notes and have done so for several years. Every once in a while when I am feeling overworked and under appreciated, I get out my "feel better file." It always does the trick, and reminds me that the way I spend my days does make a difference in many lives.

I have read The Power of Now two times, but I find that I have to constantly remind myself not to fall back into old habits, i.e. staying at school until 5 or 6 and then bringing a bag full of papers home to grade, worryiing about pleasing Reading First higher ups, agonizing over test scores, pondering the many students I have this year who need more than I will ever be able to give them. I am doing better with the stress level this year, and people have noticed. I just leave things undone that I would NEVER have left undone before. I have found, however, they get done eventually, and that no one worries nearly as much about things as I do. Life is too short to spend every moment being anything less than content. All we have is now, and I am trying very hard to live my life with that in mind.

On the personal front, I am planning another date with the man I met through the dating service. I think it is obvious we have an attraction, and I am looking forward to spending more time with him. As to whether or not it will lead to anything long term, I don't know. But I think the journey to find that out will be a pleasing one. I often wonder what my life would be like if I had made different choices about my career and living in a rural area. Then, the answer becomes clear--I wouldn't be who I am. As the line in the Woody Allen movie, Crimes and Misdemeanors, says "We are the sum total of our choices."