TCTELA

 Obviously I never posted this weekend. I was very fortunate to get to attend the TCTELA virtual conference, which began on Friday and ran through noon on Sunday. Between conference sessions and grading and planning, I didn't have much time or energy to do anything else.

I am grateful to work with a principal who values teacher education. The school paid for me to attend NCTE and TAGT last fall because I was presenting at both of them. When TCTELA was announced, our department was asked who wanted to attend. I replied that I would like to attend, but since I had already been to two other conferences, I was totally ok with not. As it worked out, there were enough spaces that I could do it. 

Really, it was a great conference. Nothing was completely new or earth-shattering, but there were some great ideas about how to teach things, and many of the speakers helped me remember why I love what I do. The theme of the conference was all about joy. The organizers did a wonderful job of bringing that theme to light.

I have pages of notes and a long list of books from this weekend. I'm definitely grateful for the opportunity I had to attend!

I really do have the best coworkers

 I am continually thankful that I work where I do. I am so lucky to have really great coworkers who make even the hardest days better. Especially this year, I'm really grateful that my team all has lunch at the same time. We meet every day to decompress; it's been a huge uplift in my day. I'm also grateful for the amazing teachers on my hallway. Because we teach different subjects, we share lots of students. It is so helpful to get a different perspective on students! 

In this year where connecting with everyone is difficult, I am so glad to get daily interaction with great people who have the same purpose and problems that I do!

The Hill We Climb If Only We Dare

 Today was inauguration day, so we have a new president. I will admit that I haven't always paid attention to previous inaugurations; usually the changing of presidents is a passing event. But after all the unrest and nastiness of the past few months, today was a breath of relief.

I was teaching for the beginning of the ceremonies but turned it on for the last 20 minutes or so. I was enthralled by Amanda Gorman's poetry recitation, and I can't wait to share it with my students next week. I went back to read Biden's inaugural address later this afternoon. I hope that his presidency carries forward the accepting and uniting tone that he used today.

I'll end tonight with more words from Amanda Gorman:

"And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us

but what stands before us

We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,

we must first put our differences aside

We lay down our arms

so we can reach out our arms

to one another"

I hope we can focus more on similarities rather than differences in the year to come!

So long, Sandspike

 About 4 years ago, Emily decided that she wanted a pet lizard. (We have so many allergies in the family that pets like cats and dogs are just not feasible.) So she researched and considered and saved her money, and eventually Sandspike the bearded dragon lizard joined the family. He was just a little thing when he arrived, about the length of my index finger.

Over the last few years, he has grown into a pancake of a lazy lizard. Originally, all the kids were contributing to his care, but everyone except Emily lost interest and opted out. As Emily has gotten busier, he has been a little neglected sometimes. 

We started talking recently about selling or giving away the lizard, especially since Emily will leave for college before we know it. We had some work done on the heating/cooling system last week, and the technician mentioned that his neighbor loves reptiles. One thing led to another, and Emily decided to sell the lizard to the guy.

So they came tonight to pick up Sandspike. It was a little bittersweet, but he's off to a good home. I'm thankful that Emily had the maturity to know when it was time to say goodbye.

Popo Party and Sunday Sleep

 I totally forgot to post anything last night. We had Popo's birthday party dinner last night. I thought about writing, but then somehow never did. Anyway, it was fun to spend an evening with family and friends. Sorensons were able to come this time, and having the little kids at the party always adds a different dimension to the party. 

Today was a pretty quiet Sunday. I accidentally took a two-hour nap this afternoon, which I definitely needed. We had Zoom church, and this evening we listened to a fireside with Brad Wilcox, 2nd counselor in the general Young Men's presidency. He was talking specifically to the youth, but it was a great message for everyone about faith and perseverance in difficult times. I was grateful for a Sunday to rest. And I'm even more grateful that tomorrow is a holiday!

Pizza night!

 It sounds silly, but I am really grateful for pizza. Especially on Fridays. Especially when the week has been really long and tiring. Especially with my funny family all sitting around the table together.

We eat pizza pretty much every Friday night. It's easy and it makes everyone happy. I don't remember when we started doing that, but it has been a thing for so long that everyone choruses "pizza night" whenever Friday is mentioned. So, pizza. Definitely grateful for pizza!

Grumpiness vs. Gratitude

I had a conversation with a friend and coworker yesterday about annoyance. This school year has been one annoyance after another. Every day, I get to school and try to have a good attitude, and then there's.... something. And then I'm annoyed. 

I'm really tired of being annoyed all the time. But more than ever this year, it seems like there are so many things out of our control and just out of control. 

But this year, I'm trying to focus on gratitude. So, in spite of being annoyed and grumpy and exhausted, I'm going to try to change my attitude.

And I am grateful. I'm grateful to have a job that I really love, even when it's tough. I'm grateful for coworkers who are amazing and supportive. I will continue to strive to focus on those things!