I am up way too early, and it has been a long time

I am taking this stupid reading comp class for my teaching certification.  Not that reading comp is stupid, but this one is.  I am not sure if it is the set up of the online class or the Maya Angelou wannabe teacher.  This explains why I woke up at 4 am this morning sweating this course.  I haven't posted in a while, so why not vent, I say.

I teach AP/IB and Honors science classes, so I fail to see how I can use phonics and fluency activities in my class.  Honestly, if they are decoding and stumbling over words, they are in the wrong place.  When the instructions how would you implement these activities in your learning environment, my honest response is I won't.  The instructor would like for me to make something up to show that I have read the module.  From her responses, I am not sure she has read the module.  Or maybe, we just don't understand each other.  She is probably a former elementary teacher (take no offense my friends that teach elementary) and our approaches are, and should be, very different.  I don't think I have ever been so glad for a class to be over.  Considering I took Organic Chemistry more than once, that is quite a statement.

Ok, off my rant.  This school year is off to a great start.  I am teaching 3 different classes, which means 3 preps, which means I have more to do than I have time.  Krista is also taking Biology online.  Fortunately it is following the same sequence so I can use some of the same things with her that my students are doing.  Unfortunately, her Algebra II is not so easy.  I guess you can say that is another prep.

Briana is settled and doing well at Liberty.  Andrea has had a change in plans, she is finishing her AA at FSCJ.  This will be completed in December.  She has applied to a few colleges, so we will see where she will be in January.  Jo will have her AA in June.  Kris will hopefully finish 10th grade and maybe make it to the state tennis tournament.

Saturday is the annual Marine Corps half marathon.  I am as prepared as I am going to be.  I am so tired of running in the heat.

Well we are updated.  Have a great day!!!!

Lessons learned and pages turned

It has been a while since I have posted on my blog. To say my life was uneventful would not be true. It just appeared that things were just too mundane to be of interest to anyone out in cyberspace. I finished my first year back at school. Busy doesn't explain life during that time. Not only was I teaching, but I was back in school myself working on certification.

Joanna has her license and a truck, which leaves only Baby Krista and she even has her permit. Today I took Joanna to open a checking account and get a debit card. Krista is right behind her. They both have jobs lined up for next year. It is difficult to believe that all my girls are nearly grown.

Andrea will attend Flagler College in the fall and Briana will be at Liberty University.

I turned 50! I decided this would be a good time to detox my life and quit dwelling on my past failures. It has been challenging, but I think I have been moderately successful. With fewer years ahead than behind, I decided I would be more selective with whom and for what I use my time.

My church is still a place where I find fellowship and food. Our family is blessed to worship with such a great family.

I continue to run. I have connected with a running group, the Absentees. This is a good group, as I am absent more than I am present. The members are diverse and very interesting. All are much better runners than I, but I glean from their experience. I am impressed with their tenacity and faithfulness to the sport. The fact that we run is binding in itself. I hope that I too have left something with my new friends.

This summer I have been volunteering at the Freedom Farm in their organic garden. I think I do more listening than productive gardening, but I have enjoyed this. The men there, with God's help are beating their addictions. God's Word and hard work are their new obsessions. I am glad I can be their friend.

As my girls grow into young ladies, I am realizing that letting go is difficult. Actually letting go and finding and empty space is more difficult. As their wings take them from my nest, I have to let God protect them. He illustrated this very effectively this past week. Andrea had an accident and we were 600 miles away. I couldn't solve this problem. But God did, better than I could. He is always there and as they have long ago released my hand, they are always in God's hand.

As long as he is alive, Jimmy will be here. I am very grateful for that. It seems like we have always had kids. As the girls fly, I will continue to find ways to help others, make new friends and enjoy the rest of my time with my Baby.

I once was lost....

If anyone knows me, they know I am seriously directionally challenged. I started teaching again this year and I am a travelling teacher, that just means I don't have a classroom. It was several months before I didn't wander around the halls trying to figure out where I was. It really is that bad for me.

Currently I am training for the Gate River Run which includes the Hart Bridge at mile 8. I had plans to meet up with a friend in Riverside to run the bridges. My husband gave me explicit directions, including landmarks, to the Riverside YMCA. Now in my defense, 95 has changed alot recently, but I went south instead of North and didn't make it. I ended up in Southside Park so I decided to run from there. In spite of being lost, I had a great run. Crossed the Acosta Bridge (which is very tall) 3 times and the Main Street once. It ended up being a wonderful 6 miles. I got mixed up in the Donna 5k at one point. Jacksonville really is a beautiful city!

I guess the moral of this story is that we are really never lost, God is always in control. He knew what I really needed that day. My friend's group actually changed their time. I don't really like to run with anyone. The weather was beautiful and I had no real agenda.