Sweet Smelling Life

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You would think after thirty-two years in the classroom that I have seen it all. Well, children never stop surprising me. When my students came into the classroom I noticed a strong fragrance of coconut. They unpacked and got settled into their desks. Our room REALLY smelled good. Another teacher came in and she commented on the coconut smell and one of my little girls announced that she was the one who smelled so good. I asked her what made her smell that way and she proceeded to say; “You know that stuff you spray in the bathroom? Well, I sprayed it all over me this morning!” Yes, air freshener used as body spray! Of course I explained that it was not good to be sprayed with bathroom spray and she promised she’d never do it again. I am not sure what brand it was but it had a long lasting aroma, that’s for sure!

I can’t say it ever occurred to me to spray myself with air freshener but there have been times that I wished I could cover up some of my grime so others would just see the sweet smelling side of me.  Covering up my weaknesses, insecurities, and failures just feels safer than exposing the real me. I tell my second graders all the time that it is ok to make mistakes, and just to do their best but I don’t often apply those thoughts to myself.  I think that is how we lose ourselves. We present the sweet side pretending there isn’t a smelly side.  And we’re all doing it! How much better would our world be if we shared our flaws and supported each other in our weaknesses? What if we got to know each other and cared for each other at our most vulnerable moments?

We live in a world where the perfect body, in the perfect outfit, with the perfect hair and makeup are seen as beautiful and accepted. I am here to tell you that this old gal sags and bags in all the wrong places, elastic waist pants are closer to becoming  my style and my hair? Naturally curly with a mind of its own. Oh, and putting eye makeup on is like driving a jeep over a gravel road. My point is, we spend so much time trying to let everyone believe we are what we are not and in the process miss out on embracing who we really are. I know because this is a lesson I am learning and it’s time for me, and all of us, to leave the air freshener in the bathroom where it belongs and be who we are really meant to be. Only then will we be living the sweet smelling life.

Arrived and Excited

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imageThe Poetry Box has arrived!  It came to school on Wednesday and I when I opened it, I was greeted by these smiling authors’ faces.  As you can see I posted them as one more clue for the students leading up to the unveiling.  I have been watching from afar and have noticed a few children discussing that the pictures match some of the books on the table, exactly as I had hoped!  The curiosity is growing and so is my excitement!

Arriving at a destination usually does bring excitment!  A family gathering, the beach, a cabin getaway….the closer I get to each of these the more my anticipation grows!  I find myself in a funny place now, however, in my life’s journey……the end of my teaching career.  While there are moments of excitement there is also a mix of jumbled emotions I am not quite sure what to do with.  Sadness, fear, and insecurity mixed with joy, relief, and satisfaction.  Now that I think about it, I guess I have been here before :  moving from Michigan to West Virginia to teach, getting married, and having a family to name a few, and now the new path of retirement.  We are all on the road going different directions.  Some trips more pleasant than others. While we may feel that we have made a wrong turn, found ourselves at a dead-end, or are in the middle of unchartered waters we are not alone.  It continuously amazes me how God brings me just what I need when I need it!  This weekend I have been questioning myself about making the right decision to retire or not; and today this was my scripture reading:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

do not depend on your own understanding.

  Seek His will and he will direct your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

My destination may be unknown to me, but my GPS (God’s Positioning System) will guide my steps.  I HAVE arrived but my new path awaits…… Now THAT is exciting!

Chosen

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Back in January I was doing a little “computer work”, as my sister likes to call it, basically passing time, when I came upon a posting on one of the storytelling websites I follow.  It was from Kevin Cordi seeking teachers who were interested in participating in a project he had developed called the “Poetry Box Project”. Twenty-five children’s authors have written the beginnings of poems that the students in the project will finish, add to the box, and send on as it travels across the country and maybe even world.  He specifically asked for West Virginia teachers who might be willing to take part.  Without really thinking about it, I wrote to Kevin right away to express my interest in receiving the Poetry Box for my school and the state of West Virginia.  Now, I have to be honest with you, I NEVER expected to be chosen.  After all, I teach in a very small, rural school and I am not an award winning, paper publishing, extraordinary teacher.  Why would he choose me?  Well, you can imagine my surprise when I received an email from Kevin to let me know that I HAD been chosen as an Ambassador for the Poetry Box!  It is on its way from Illinois as I type and our school will have it for the month of April.  Needless to say, I am still a little shocked but very excited!  Blogging about this experience is part of the project and the motivation behind my starting “My Sea of Thought.”

To help begin building curiosity and anticipation for the Poetry Box I have left a message on the wall of our cafeteria for the students to find on Monday morning.  It says, “NFES: We have been chosen!”  This picture shows the sign hanging above a table I set up that has books on it written by the authors of the poem beginnings. I have a few more messages planned for the kids before the unveiling of the box.image

I have been thinking about “being chosen” a lot lately.  I don’t know about you, but there have been many times in my life when I haven’t felt good enough or qualified enough to do something.  It is human nature I think, to stay in that safe spot where we know what we are doing and feel successful doing it.  It is when we are asked to step outside that comfort zone (a place I do NOT like to leave) that we begin to convince ourselves we don’t have what it takes, there’s someone better for the job, and even I’m too old to learn something new. (Can you guess who has said that recently……) What I am learning though, is that when we sell ourselves short out of fear and insecurity, we miss out on opportunities and experiences that will enhance our lives. God designed each of us with special gifts and talents and He has chosen you and me to do great things!  Is it always easy?  NO!  Is it sometimes scary?  YES!  But in the end,  whether it be for the Poetry Box, a new job, helping someone, or you add your own, being chosen is a gift we’ve been given that will bring joys untold to our lives and those around us if we just have faith and leap (or tiptoe) onto the new paths put in front of us.

Book Orders and Weight Watchers

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Having just finished counting the money and placing our latest classroom book order, I am dismayed to see how ordering junk has overtaken ordering books.  I wish I knew the magic spell that would open  my students’ and their parents’ eyes to see that books provide hours upon hours of fun, excitement, and adventures that can take them anywhere they want to go over and over again unlike those tiny trinkets that will quickly be tossed away, they so willingly spend their money on.

Ahhh, human nature.  We want what we want, the shinier… bigger… brighter… tastier… the better!  Money isn’t the only thing I have counted today.  I am also counting my Weight Watcher points.  I am just like the children with their book orders!  I don’t want the good foods that will provide me health, low cholesterol, and long life!  No!  I want those tiny (or not so tiny)  yummy…gooey….fat-filled  morsels I believe I can’t live without.  When will I open my eyes to see that eating healthy is not depriving myself of anything, but rather the way I was always designed to eat?

So it goes in life.  We all need a magic spell to open our eyes to the choices we make each day.  Will it be choosing to open our minds and imaginations to new people and places?  Will it be choosing to open our mouths to foods that will improve our health? Or will it be choosing to open our hearts and recognize all the possibilities there are to help make a difference to those around us?  I hope it is the last because  when it is all said and done, counting on each other, is what makes this adventure called life worth reading over and over again!

Birthday Blessings

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It’s my birthday today and……. I am sick. Now in the scheme of things I know that being sick on my birthday is not that big a deal, but feeling rotten, in a sea of tissues, watching Hallmark movies is not the way I had my day pictured.

Isn’t is funny how in our lives, we often set high expectations for an event, idea, or a relationship. I have found that they are rarely met in the ways we had imagined or even come close and the result is often sadness or even anger. I must admit that “woe is me” slid easily off my tongue this afternoon when I should have been enjoying a slice of birthday cake with friends Instead of sitting home alone.  But here’s the thing, alone or in the company of those I care about, I still turned 55, the sun was shining, and I am on Spring Break so I didn’t have to make lesson plans for a substitute. Life is good when our expectations are open to the little detours along the way, a lesson this 55 year old is still learning. It is time for me to stop singing the birthday blues and get lost in the melody of my birthday blessings.  After all, anything else is just icing on the cake!

 

 

Preparing for Travel

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It is with unsure footsteps that I begin this journey of becoming a blogger.  I have an open ended ticket with the destination unknown, but excitement for this trip is urging me on.

I have been a teacher for 32 years. Twenty-six of those years I spent as a Special Educator.  I then moved on to Fourth Grade and that lead to my placement now as a Second Grade Teacher.  I have discovered that Second Grade is where I’ve always belonged!  The children accept me as I am (wacky), still love learning, and laugh at my jokes.  I receive precious love letters, gifts of feathers, rocks, and shells, and one-of-a-kind pieces of art regularly.  It doesn’t get much better than that!  It has been a privilege and blessing (most days) to spend time with my students. I have come to a place though, where I am ready for a change.  With much prayer and thought, I have decided that this will be my final year as a classroom teacher and I will retire in June.  The thought of retirement stirs feelings of fear, excitement, sadness, and relief.  There is a churning in my soul, however,  that prompts me to move on to this next leg of my journey.  It is my hope that I can share with you stories from my classroom and the lessons I learn on my jaunt through life.  Pack your bags and hold on!  Adventure awaits!