Stress City

I didn't post last week because I was working on lesson plans clear into Sunday night. I avoided that this week by getting them done early this time. Ergh. I am SO ready for summer vacation.

This week has been full of stressful events. I had an interview for a different job on Tuesday. My sister had a baby on Wednesday, and the baby is still in the hospital from complications. (He should be getting out soon.) I had a date on Friday with a guy I had never been out with before. Then our school prom was Saturday night, and I just couldn't bring myself to go. I just needed some time to chill.
Because of everything going on, I have been even more spacey than normal. For example, yesterday I was going to cook some chicken to make enchiladas with. I put the water on to boil, then an hour and a half later, I walked through the kitchen and noticed the water boiling. I had forgotten I had even started it! Then after I put the chicken in the pot, I forgot about it too. I didn't remember it again until I had already gotten ready for bed. I got up to check the thermostat, and there the chicken was, on the stove, boiling away. I'm so glad I was feeling a bit hot!
I'm trying not to worry about anything. I'm trying to be patient. I'm trying to trust the Lord. Say, when does this get easier??

This is my new nephew, Logan. I think he has the West nose.

Life Changing

OK, I admit it, I've become a TLC watcher. It started off innocently enough with "What Not to Wear." Then I kept watching through "Hoarders." Now I want to catch "19 Kids and Counting." When does that come on?

It's so interesting to see people change over the course of the show. I love to see the people on "What Not to Wear" get transformed into more stylish versions of themselves, and I love to see the people on "Hoarders" finally get their houses cleaned up. (Actually, the first part of the show makes me want to clean uncontrollably. I mean, what if I end up like that?)

I'm enamored with the idea of making life better and better and better until finally I have reached the maximum most amazing life ever. Is this an American way to think? It's not very realistic.

My idea of getting better and better needs to be replaced. Instead I need to prioritize more. It's not really necessary that I do everything that I think of to do. If I am busy doing something important (like playing with my nephews, for example), it's not terrible that I didn't do something less important (like washing my car). I guess, really, it's about balance and cutting myself a little slack in some areas, while being a bit more disciplined in others.

I think I'm figuring this out. There is no easy life, we just have to do the best we can with the one we've got.

I'm glad God is gracious, and that He is in control. Otherwise I would become totally psychotic trying to make it all work out.

Ending/Beginning (Because They're the Same)

...49 MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL...

Yes, I am getting ready for this school year to be over. The seniors have about a month left, then they will be gone. We've finished one end-of-course test (literacy), but there are a jillion left to get through (algebra, algebra II, geometry, biology), and there are all the AP tests, the 9th grade norm-referenced test, and the benchmarks for 7th and 8th grades (which luckily won't affect me). Actually, none of the tests affect my subjects at all (a blessing). They just interrupt my classes.

Tests are what we are going to be suffering through over the next 49 days. Then when we finish all of those, we are going to give our own semester tests. And I hope I can squeeze in the rest of the material that I need to cover for the year, especially in Physical Science. Reteaching topics that the students had trouble with slowed us down a lot. (But of course moving ahead when they still don't get it makes about as much sense as putting your shoes on before your socks.)

On the home front, since I have resigned my position for next year, I have been scouting for jobs at schools closer to home. I've had a few jobs turn up, but not a lot. I am feeling a bit nervous, but excited about what next year is going to bring.

I'm also working on my house. I have a mobile home parked on my dad's land. It has electricity hooked up to it, but that's all. It is in no way livable right now, and I really want to be able to move in when school is out June 4th. Before I move in I have to get a driveway laid, the water line run from the meter, the floors redone (they have water damage), the walls painted, and some new appliances put in. That is not the work of one weekend.

OK, so I am going a bit crazy with these tasks swimming around in my head. Maybe I should start a few dozen lists...