Gratitude: January 31st

As silly as it may sound, today I am grateful that I took the time to focus on gratitude this month. I need to keep it a focus in my life. I need to work, every day, to not focus on the frustrations, the trials and the tribulations - but instead to keep my eyes open for the little things that bring me joy. It's just hard sometimes.

Sometimes the trials and tribulations just seem so overwhelming. They seem so much bigger than a hot shower, a purring cat, or a goofy horse. Forcing myself to consciously acknowledge the things I appreciate has helped improve my outlook, and January has seemed just a little bit brighter. And oh how I've needed that brightness. 

Yesterday, while I was cooking dinner one of my children commented on something silly I was doing, "Mom, you seem like you're in a good mood today."

For an instant I was upset; if a good mood was that noticeable, my kids haven't seen that part of me in quite a while. But then I made a conscious decision to not be upset. In that moment, I was in a good mood; I wasn't worried or upset - I was genuinely happy to be doing whatever it was I was doing. (I wish, for the life of me, that I could remember what it was!) I want to keep that feeling, and I believe focusing on all the little things I am grateful for has been a big help in lifting my mood. I may not post about it as often, but I will be working to be grateful each and every day...

Gratitude: January 29th

 

One of my favorite things in the world is a hot shower - emphasis on the hot part. I love it when he water temperature borders on scalding. I remember when my kids were little and we had to turn down the hot water heater so they wouldn't accidentally burn themselves, my showers felt lukewarm. Now that I have teenagers, the water heater's thermostat is once again turned up and I love it.

I'm also thankful for "safe search." I'm use to searching on my filtered school computer, so when I did a quick internet search for "hot shower" pictures on my unfiltered home laptop, I was not prepared for what Google thought I wanted to see! Lesson learned...

Gratitude: January 28th

My dear friend, Susan, gets my gratitude today. She retired from our school in June, after teaching for 35 years. This week, just to be nice, she delivered treats and four different jugs of  flavored coffee creamer to the teacher's lounge. Isn't that the sweetest thing!

Gratitude: January 27th

I know many people are anti pharmaceutical companies, but I can't imagine life without some of the modern drugs we take for granted. 

Today my lower back and I are grateful for drugs like acetaminophen and ibuprofen. I even appreciate opioids (when taken in moderation.) Both of my children have taken them - my youngest when they got their tonsils  and adenoids out, and my oldest after after his wisdom teeth needed to be surgically removed from his lower jaw.

Gratitude: January 26th

I am very thankful I have a job that allows me to take sick days. I hurt my back yesterday; ironically when I was helping one of my students roll up their yoga mat. Since my school provides paid sick leave to its employees, I was able to spend today in bed, recuperating. I hate taking sick days, but I'm thankful they're there when I desperately need them.

I'm also grateful for Dr. Bozzio, my orthopedic doctor. He is the one who directed me to start doing yoga. I firmly believe this back injury is less severe than past injuries due to my much stronger core muscles.  Finally, I'm glad I was smart enough to heed his advice... 

Gratitude: January 24th

I adore my students - both of them*; they are joyful, positive and hardworking.  Every day I am grateful I get to work with them.

And now that it's after Christmas,  I can share what each of them made to give to their mother. These two hand-sewed each and every stitch in their project. They worked so hard, and were so proud of their finished snowmen.

* All of the elementary classrooms on Mackinac Island are splits. Usually, I have a combined fifth and sixth grade class of anywhere from four to 10 students. (My largest class ever was 19.) This year there are no sixth graders, so I have a class of two fifth graders. That will make for an interesting year, next year, on the high school end of our school. This year we will graduate 11 students, and with no new seventh grades entering that end of the school next year, our high school population will drop, significantly, for the next few years.

Gratitude: January 23rd

Earlier this week Mackinac Island had the perfect conditions for the creation of snow rollers (also known as snow bales, snow doughnuts and wind snowballs.) It was about 38 degrees F, windy, and we had a fresh layer of wet snow. I've lived in Michigan my entire life and I've never seen these before.

I'm grateful I'm a big enough nerd that I noticed them as I drove my snowmobile to work. When I asked some friends if they'd seen them, they thought it was just snow that had blown off the trees.

Gratitude: January 22nd

 

(Happy kids in homemade jammies - 2016.)

Today I am full of appreciation for my ability to sew; it's something I enjoy, I'm good at it, and it brings me joy. I've been doing it for a long time - I made my first dress in about 1990, unless you count the Barbie dresses I made when I was a little kid. (I remember making them out of old socks.) Recently, I've been branching out into more challenging projects - even attempting to make underwear. (Which isn't really that hard.)

Probably the thing I've sewn that I am most proud of, is the Pikachu jeans I made for my son in 2015. They were my first pair of jeans and my first fly.

 

And I just love the detail I put on the pocket. 

Hopefully, with the semester ending today, this weekend I'll get some time to myself up in my sewing room. What are you going to do to keep busy this weekend? Whatever it is, I hope it brings you joy.

Gratitude: January 21st

Tomorrow is the last day of our school's first semester - making this week finals week. Ugh. I think we can all agree, no one loves finals week. (My freshman and sophomore would argue it is the bane of their existance.)

Today, I wanted to take a moment to express my appreciation for my children's teachers. Teaching can be a thankless job, but I want these teachers to know how important they are in the lives of my children. (Well, important in my eyes.) Without their effort and dedication, the first semester of the 2020-2021 school year could've been a disaster. 

But it wasn't.

We were in person, then online, and then back in person, but the high school staff kept the learning going. As a teacher myself, I have high expectations; I know what good teaching looks like and I saw it this semester. I saw teachers go out of their way to help my kids, who were struggling with quarantine and learning at home; and those same teachers worked diligently to keep me informed about what was going on. Had they not, that possible disaster would have been a reality. I am grateful for the hours they put in to help ensure my children have a bright future. 

Mr. Neville, Ms. Ellithorpe, Miss May, Mr. Greenlee, Mrs. Niner, and Mr. Duncan, thank you.

Gratitude: January 20th

Today I am feeling grateful that I was born into a democratic country; a country that has worked to live up to the ideals set fourth by the authors of our Constitution. I am hopeful that today  power will, once again, peacefully pass from one administration to the next. 

It is my hope that the Biden administration will begin the difficult task of bringing our nation together. Regardless of what side of the political debate we are on, I think we can all agree that finding a way to come together as a nation is in everyone's best interests.