Hopeful Thoughts

I know you think that I’m crazy for making such a statement, but I am VERY sad for this week to come to an end. I’ve had a lovely week off from the grind of teaching high school math students, and I am STRUGGLING with the idea of going back on Monday.

I am at a very unique point in my career. I love teaching, don’t get me wrong, but I am so ready to be finished! When I graduated from Meredith College back in 2000 and walked into my first classroom that fall, I thought I would teach full time for maybe five years and then move on to the Domestic phase of my life, taking care of hubby and hopefully raising kids. Well, God has seen fit to keep me in the classroom for an extra 4 years. When this school year ends, a new phase of my life begins.

This year’s students have been a special experience. I was blessed with the opportunity to teach students who failed Algebra I last year. My job has been to work with these students EVERY day for 90 minutes (our school is on an A/B block schedule) with the goal of getting them through not only Algebra I, but also Geometry. I have grown to love each of my students. They are great fun, but along with this love comes a great deal of self-inflicted personal responsibility for their success. Because I love them SO much, I get very frustrated when they don’t do well. It’s HARD to get unmotivated students to do well, so I’ve spent lots of time frustrated.

So, as this school year draws to a close, I have mixed emotions. My desire to be a better wife and future mother have me willing the days to pass quickly. However, my love for my students and desire to see them get their credits cause me to desire more time. Not to mention I will graduate from BTCL this May, and that is an experience I don’t want to end!

My prayer as I go back to work next week is that I will have the patience to take it one day at a time and not wish the days away. Each day is a gift and I don’t want to waste any of it!

Everyone keeps asking me what I am going to do with a whole week off for Spring Break. Actually, this is the first break in nearly 10 years that I will not be getting on a airplane to go somewhere. I have nothing really scheduled, and I am thrilled to death at the prospects of what these uncommitted hours will hold. While I have no real plans, I do have some ideas of what I will do. This week, I plan to be a Domestic Goddess and relish in the mundane things at home.

This week:

• I will linger over the Word with my colored pencils and several cups of coffee instead of rushing through in an effort to get to work on time.
• I will NOT have to stare at a pile of clean laundry, as I will have time to actually fold it and put it away.
• I will be relaxed when I enter my home because everything will actually be in place for a change.
• I will read a book or two (I already checked one off the list when I got off work Friday!!)
• I will visit with friends for fun and be available if they call in need of a helping hand.
• I will practice my crafty skills by sewing and crocheting.
• I will bake a cheesecake and cook dinner each night for my precious husband. I will even enjoy shopping for groceries this week!
• I will actually spend time with my husband rather than rushing off to bed or being asleep when he comes home from work.
• I will begin to implement some of my plans for supplementing my husband’s income when I quit teaching this fall. I am working on stock for a future Etsy store, meeting with a friend about a tutoring opportunity, and posting a few things we don’t use onto E-bay.
• Most importantly, I will not be stressed and I will be content.