On the Lack Thereof

I miss, miss, MISS my blogging. Really miss it.

To the point that right now, I am resisting resentment towards the things that keep me too busy to blog.

I took a "career quiz" today to prep for my last class of the day, where I am having my students take a series of quizzes to determine which careers might suit them.

The career topping my list? High school teacher.
Followed closely by middle school teacher and a host of other teaching-related professions.

Homemaking was listed 8th. Writer was listed somewhere down at the bottom, in the 20s. (Those are the two areas my future "job" lies in....)

So clearly, my job as a high school teacher suits me. And yet, on days like today, when I miss my blogging, and feel guilty for posting anyways (because you know, I should be marking or lesson-prepping) - days like today I struggle to not resent my job for the time it takes up.

It doesn't make me teach any differently than last year, when I had time for both; I don't love my students any less, I just wish I could stretch the day.

It really is "my fault" for moving to a new place, with a much longer commute.
But I can't resent the commute when it means I get to be closer to family, friends, and the love of my life each evening and weekend.

So, for now, I keep not blogging, and instead go to planning and marking. (Getting there!) And when I'm not working, I try to keep up on cooking and laundry and sleeping and seeing the people that mean much to me. (And buying a house, moving again, planning a wedding....you know. The other things that have changed since last year that take more from my spare time...)

And, by the way, I love my life. All of it. The work, the people, the multiple blessings.

God is so good to me. And now, after reflecting on it in writing, I don't resent any more. Phewf! 
















Plus, I've learned to say 'no'!!! (Good, right? Could still be better....)

And the Blue Jays win!

I grew up hearing about the Toronto Blue Jays, recognizing their logo from the t-shirts, ball caps, and banners that my older brothers had around the house.

I also played baseball - at school, at home. Spring had sprung when you could take a bat outside and send a ball whizzing across the still-brown grass towards the little lumps of dirty snow still left in the field. My best hit of the season always happened that first day.

I attended a ball game out in the Dominican Republic with my service team back in 2009, but this was my first real-live Jays game. And they won! They made those last few innings very exciting to watch.

Oh, and I think after that one game, Ed might know the rules of baseball better than I do. Must be a guy thing to catch on so quick....

Oh, and why were we there, might you ask? My staff decided that a ball game would be a great year-end staff social. It was. Dinner afterwards was fun too - a more relaxed setting in which to talk shop :)

In the Roger's Centre - Jays up to bat.

Watching baseball in the shadow of the CN tower

Lawrie up at bat - Jays logo backing him up :)

Blue Jays win! (says the running banner on either side)

A Busy Life

I'm a teacher, and it's a good job.

But it can be such a disappointing job too.

Outside of teaching, I often have friends & family members who wonder aloud how I do it. How do I do so many different things? Teach high school, be a friend, serve on a couple of different committees.

And sometimes, if they don't know me too well, these are the same people who conclude that I must be able to do it because teaching is so easy, with the summer break and other school vacations. Plus, teachers get paid well and have great pension plans, so they can retire early. Didn't you hear?

It's the same job that makes me feel completely inadequate and a total failure too. I find myself constantly making excuses for things that I haven't accomplished. I'm hard on myself for not planning two 75-minute lessons and marking a set of essays, along with vacuuming and cooking a healthy dinner for myself, while also making time to visit a friend I haven't seen awhile and getting to bed at the reasonable hour of at least 10 pm. In one evening. If I have a committee meeting to attend I just limit myself to expecting a healthy dinner, the meeting, 2 lessons and some marking.

These are my expectations of myself.

And then I get overwhelmed because of all the things I expect myself to do, that I can't function well. It would be better to expect less, feel less overwhelmed, and get more accomplished.

And so I realise how ridiculous my expectations of myself are. How unrealistic. I can either a) have a clean house or b) get ahead of lesson planning while keeping up with marking or c) get enough sleep or d) actually have quality time to spend with my God.

So I never feel like I've slept enough, always feel behind on marking, and feel accomplished when I wash up the few dishes...biweekly.

And God tells us that that last one is more important than any other one.
When my life is not right with God, my earthly work cannot take priority. And I certainly can't let people make me feel inadequate for that.

Okay. Blog post done. I have a lesson to plan, a shower to take, a lunch to make, devotions too. And bed. Bed by 11? Oh I hope so.

Expectations. Grr.

Tales from the South: Trail Clean-Up

Every Wednesday morning that Faithworks spends with SWAP in Kentucky, we clean up Little Shepherd Trail.
It's our way of giving back to the community that hosts us.

And every year lends us some interesting finds.
Some years it's diapers, others its undies.
We find skulls & dead animals.
There's car parts and home reno remains.
And always the usual cans & bottles.

And, we always have fun!

A gorgeous morning: view from the top of Margot's driveway

Someone dumped their shed? We can take care of that...

...Step 1: get it off the hill & on the road. Step 2: get it off the road & on the truck...

Ta-da! Good work, group!

Clean-up crew '1' at the bus, with Bec holding evidence of where the goats went to...

They used their muscles, yes they did! Showing off this year's haul.

How many people can we fit in one truck!? You better believe the truck complained about it. Loudly.

Tales from the South: Homeowners

Without homeowners, our Kentucky trips would be a whole lot less worthwhile.

Homeowners are pretty brave people. They wouldn't admit to it. Most of the time, if you spoke with them, they'd say they did it as a last resort. Or, because it had to be done.

Imagine it was YOUR house that a team of crazy Canadian young people were coming to fix. How many of you would sign up for that opportunity?
Can you imagine not having enough money to hire someone to do it for you? Can you imagine being too old, sick, or disabled to fix the door/roof/porch/steps on your house?
How frustrating would it be if you had the money to afford the supplies, but couldn't afford the labour costs (especially as labour is often 2/3rds of the overall cost)? How frustrating if you knew that the project has to be done now to preserve the live-ability of your home, and you know that within a year or two you'd have the money, if not for the interest? Or, if the bank won't give you a loan?

Would you be glad to have the SWAP option? Free labour, paying [interest-free] for supplies as you are able?

I'd probably feel embarrassed & ashamed, not to mention apprehensive.

And yet, I've met some wonderful people over the years who have opened up their homes to volunteers. They've all been giving, loving, caring people.

T.I. > an elderly lady with Alzheimer's who prayed with us the last day, thanking God for her new front porch & fixed roof (which had both had holes), and newly fixed chimney & painted interior (all the coal smoke from the stove had been staying inside the house.)

Missy > caring for her own 3 kids, and her sister's 4 in a double-wide and collecting every last scrap of something that might be useful.

Myrtle > the matriarch of a whole family clan - primary care-giver of 2 great-grandchildren, relieving a granddaughter with a paraplegic husband. Her son would help, but he suffered from black lung after working in the mines and couldn't do much anymore. Her wooden-sided house needed drainage & painting, to protect from further water damage.

Jason & Manda > a coal miner & his wife, with three little girls. The house needed underpinning & a new back porch now, but they needed to put all their funds toward paying off the land, in case Jason had an accident in the mines & was laid off of work, with no pay and therefore no means of paying off the mortgage, which would result in the loss of their home.

All those awesome homeowners, and yet, Bill & Evelyn stole my heart this last trip.

I'd call them Grandpa & Grandma, except they're young enough to be my grandparents' children.

Bill & Evelyn are ten years apart in age and got married within two weeks of meeting each other. That was over 40 years ago. They had a son, David, who died when he was 9. He had been disabled all his life. Soon after that, they both 'got saved.'
Evelyn was born in Harlan, but her family moved away when she was very young - back when Harlan was known as "Bloody Harlan." Bill was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, as one of 12 siblings. After they married, they lived in Cincinnati until 7 years ago. Seven years ago, Evelyn felt the call to Harlan, to come and serve as chaplain at the local hospital.
They moved and bought a house. They 'adopted' James, who works at Christ's Hands (a  soup kitchen & homeless shelter in Harlan.) And they've come to love the community they live in.

Evelyn has severe arthritis, and can't easily navigate steps anymore. Being on a limited income, she and Bill couldn't afford to pay for the ramp she needed to get into the house. Or for the porch roof that would protect their existing porch and offer them shelter from the rain. So James, who knows SWAP through his work at Christ's Hands, got them in touch.

I loved, loved, loved working for these people. You could tell that they were delighted to have us. They regaled us with stories, introduced us to their family through pictures, and spoke of their love for their Saviour. We became their children - evidenced by Wednesday night: Ed & the girls went to pick them up to join us for a bbq picnic we were having just down the road. When they pulled in, Bill said to his wife: "Evelyn, our kids are here!" That's how I felt. They enjoyed our duck games (more on that later) and played along. They fed us snacks & water (provided by James.) They cried when we had to say goodbye Friday night. So did we.

And the reason for our close connection? We are family in our Lord & Saviour.

I've never been more delighted or satisfied to see our work finished. God has been so good!

Chatting together after a job well done

Ed & Le: "Hey Bill, where do you want your chair?" Bill to Evelyn: "Hey babe, where do you want them to put our chair?"

Overdrive

So last night I was thinking I'd write me up a blog post. Then it got too late, so I just went to bed instead. Past midnight. Again.

I'm telling myself that tonight, tonight I will go to bed early. I doubt it will happen. Too much is going on around here for sleep. Sleep? What's that? Why, I'd much rather plan out morning staff devotions in my dreams and mark Bible assignments (before the next ones come along) and write tests for my World Issues course (because unlike last semester, this course has NOTHING prepped.) And then my mind wanders to "what groceries do I need to get for food lab this week?" And then it moves on to Kentucky. I have to get the devotions all set up for the week, and photocopy. Gotta photocopy lotsa forms. And then wonder "Is the send-off good to go? I should check in with the people who are on-duty for planning it..." And then there's Japan.

Oh yes, did I mentioned I am for sure-zees headed to the other side of the northern hemisphere this summer?
Leading a Faithworks team, lotsa working alongside Japanese Christians, and hopefully sushi & tea.

And that's how my mind works. Overdrive.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Of course, I do have other, far more exciting things to think on too.
That's why my weekend was a good one, folks.

Because I have friends and I know people. And they are pretty special and quite lovely.

(I also went snowboarding. And we actually had some real winter. 2 hours north of here.)

Versatile [Oatmeal] Cookies

Funny Story: I got this recipe from a co-worker a few years back. She usually makes it with chocolate chips, I typically make it with raisins. Today, when we made it with the food & nutrition class, we made half the batch raisin and the other half chocolate chip. The teachers got one of each. My coworker asked for the recipe for the raisin one. "It's your recipe!" (Guess that tells ya how well the students made them!)

Funny Story II: I forgot to take pictures. Again.

That wasn't funny - but these are good!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients:
• 2 cups all purpose white flour
• 1 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 pound (1 cups) butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups raisins
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Prepare baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or spraying with vegetable shortening.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
4. Using a beater attachment and a stand mixer, beat butter on medium speed until creamy.
5. Add sugars and beat until fluffy. Scrape bowl.
6. Add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla and beat again. Scrape.
7. Turn mixer to low speed and add the flour and oats mixture a few cups at a time.
8. Add raisins and give it one final mix. Scrape the bowl good to make sure everything is blended well.
9. Using a cookie scoop or Tablespoon, measure out cookie dough and place on prepared sheets leaving some room between them to spread.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until slightly firm around the edges. Cookies will continue to bake even after you take them out of the oven.
11. Remove to cooling racks and cool completely before storing them in airtight containers.
12. Makes 25-30 warm, chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies!
Variations:
• Oatmeal Scotchies Cookies: Substitute butterscotch chips for raisins.
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: Substitute chocolate chips for raisins.
• Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies: Substitute chocolate chips for raisins and add 1 cup of chopped walnuts.
• Oatmeal Craisin Nut Cookies: Substitute craisins for raisins and add 1 cup chopped nuts, your choice.

Students Sayings II - The GSV

Geography.

These kids weren't quite as funny, not like last year's class. (Probably a good thing, considering what's considered funny is also often wrong!)

However, there was this little gem:

"Convectional precipitation is the mix of water, wind and fossil fuels in precipitation."

And then the multiple choice winner: (student selection in bold)

Q: People are able to live further apart today but still work together because of the:
       a) Car
       b) Computer
       c) Internet
       d) All of the above
       e) None of the above
(Well, how then? Certainly not by teleportation!)

Student Sayings I - ESV

I've been marking final course work & exams for the past week now, and boy are there some gems in here.  It's the only redeeming thing about marking.

Here's Student Sayings I - the English Standard Version.

In poetry:

"Walking together side by side now / Our love is growing like a dairy cow"

Exam question:
"How many years were Anne Frank and the others in hiding?"
Student Answer: "20".
My friend/also high school teacher's observation: "I think by then we would be reading the journal of Anne and Peter's kids!"

Exam: "Write three different sentences using 'their', 'they're', and 'there' correctly. (3)"
Student Answer for 'there': "There goes a boy eating a flying saucer while racing a kangaroo."

Exam Header: "ENG2D - Final Exam - two hours - June 2011"
Student: HUGE circle around header, ARROW, question mark?
Me: Oops...riiiiight. January 2012...

When reading carefully is a good idea:
Exam question: What is the best way for people to enter and exit Sarajevo [during the siege]?
Frequently seen student answer: Through the tunnel under the airport or by death.

                                                                                       ^ One of those two options is correct. 

Which is it?

Exam question: "What type of poem is this?"
Student answer: "It is an explanatory myth."
Me: Incorrect. It is a poem.

On the exam, a student uses the word "astounding" in his essay. In the margin he writes --> (I know big word :)

Essay choice: Compare and contrast the Greek creation myth to the Biblical account of the creation of our world.
Student's choice: "The Greeks and Babylonians have used myths to explain Biblical creation."

Motivational Spiel

I'm posting this for no one's interest but my own. But if you're interested, read on.

I need to be motivated.

Here's my to-do list. My time frame is: the rest of today, tomorrow & Thursday (possibly Saturday night for report cards.)

1. Mark 1 essay question x 22 exams. (2:40 pm)
2. Total up 22 exams & insert into Markbook (3:28 pm)
3. Mark 22 geography exams. (11:25 pm, Feb 1)
4. Total up 22 exams & insert into Markbook. (11:51 pm, Feb 1)
5. Write comments for 50 report cards (2 classes), completely write 50 more (2 more classes.) (Feb 4, 2 pm)
6. Photocopy first two days' Bible assignments. (4 pm - after unjamming the photocopier.)
7. Finish prepping Food & Nutrition (1/2 day?) (11 am, Feb 2)
8. Grocery shop for Food & Nutrition (10:30 am, Feb 1)
9. Prep for Careers/Civics class... (it got done...)
10. Prep for grade 12 World Geography. (2:35 pm, Feb 2. sort of.)

Today's goal: #s 1,2, 6
Tomorrow's goal: #s 3, 4, 7, 8 (didn't get 7 done, but that was majorly pushing it!)

I can do it!!!

I learn

I have learned a lot since I became a teacher.
Like, I've learned I'm not that smart. That was from my students.
And, with almost all male coworkers, I've learned a lot about guys. Like, they're worse than girls when it comes to matchmaking.

Want some other examples? Here:

1. I'm not that smart.
2. Married men can be giddy like schoolgirls when it comes to relationship 'gossip'/matchmaking/drama.
3. How to play football. Sort of.
4. Volleyball
5. Basketball
6. Lacrosse
7. Rugby
8. I like national parks/Canada's gorgeous and more diverse than remembered/learned/imagined.
9. That when guys don't respond to a question/comment right away, I'm not being ignored. They were just busy and will process the answer and respond later. Much later. When I've forgotten what I've said. If it takes longer than that, they will forget and I won't get a response. Ever. Because I've forgotten the question, and they've forgotten to answer.
10. Nothing is more outwardly self-assured cocky than a 16 year old boy.
11. ...except a 17 year old boy.
12. Boys are sensitive. 
13. They also care about their looks faaaaar too much. 
14. It's because they're sensitive.
15. To be more organized.
16. I look 34.
17. I'm glad I'm done being a high school student. Except during exam week.