Phew!

I have officially finished my first semester of teaching. Nothing could have prepared me for how crazy it was going to be. My fellow first year teacher friends and I were laughing the other day about how the past semester has been a black hole. I literally feel like I blacked out and can't remember things that happened in August and September! My 7th grade co-teacher was laughing about something I said during class to a student one of the first weeks of school. I told her that she was crazy for thinking I would remember anything I said during the first few weeks of my first year of teaching! It's been a blur, like a marathon, the hardest thing I have done in my life...can I use anymore figurative language to describe it? :)

Despite the stress and times I thought I wouldn't make it, I definitely feel like I have grown an incredible amount and for that, I am thankful. I am a very different person and teacher than I was 6 months ago! I haven't written many details (except for a few funny stories) on my blog before now because to be honest, I was just trying to survive and focus on positive things. It's been hard, but the past few weeks have definitely been better. I love the people I work with and I am beginning to learn how to manage the stress of working at a charter school, with 2 preps, teaching English to students who are all ELL, taking a graduate class and doing TFA at the same time. The workload hasn't gotten any lighter but by the grace of God, my attitude has changed. I have always loved my students, but I am beginnning to like them now, haha! I learned (among many things) that I will not make a difference in the lives of all 150 of my students. Why on earth did I think that was a possibility to begin with? However, if I can impact even a few, my work was not in vein.

There is a strong possibility that I will be the special populations inclusion teacher next year...fingers crossed! The SPED director at my school has really been pushing for me, so we will see. Mitchell is more than likely going to be teaching all high school classes next year, which he is excited about.

On a different note, the first weekend of break has been fantastic. I am in disbelief that we have TWO weeks off! YES!! This past weekend consisted of fun with friends from work, going to see a musical that Mitchell's Dad wrote and dinner with our sweet friends (the Henrys) last night. Believe it or not, I am writing this blog while on a flight to Boston! They are giving out free in-flight Internet during the holidays, so I figured it was a good time to write a blog post as I attempt to pass the time. We haven't been to Rhode Island since last December...so we are both extremely excited! Also, we will get to spend time with (and get to know) our new brother-in-law, Clark. I love spending time in Rhode Island. The only sad part was leaving Boomner at the kennel today. The kennel was VERY loud and we definitely will not be keeping him there again after this time. This sounds ridiculous, but I got teary eyed after leaving him in his run and watching him stare at us and start whimpering as we walked away. I am sure the people working there thought I was a nutcase. They asked if I wanted a business card and Mitchell replied for me, "Oh yes, she'll probably call you every day." HAHA! Hey, I love my dog. He's part of our family!

Time to turn off the computer and take a lovely in-flight nap! Can't wait to see my family in three hours! :) Hope that everyone has a fantastic week!

In Him,

Katherine