Is it Christmas yet!???!

I'm guilty - I've been listening to Christmas carols already.  I'm one of those people.  But, I'm not sorry because it makes me think about seeing my family at Christmas and all the fun we have and love we share.  I'm ready to go back down South and see all of my loved ones again.  Lately, I have been experiencing the aftermath of all the changes that have happened in my life in the last few months.  It's caught up with me.  I've felt really, really stressed and it's because I'm facing so much newness in work and personal life.  There has always been stress from work, but I haven't had to face so much "new" and "different" in the other aspects of my life.  So, the stress compounds and seems to multiply.  I've been trying to relieve some of the pressure to be perfect.  I'm a Type-A person who likes things to be just right, at least with a lot of things, and so it's difficult for me to let some of that go.  I think it's good for me, though.  I have to give myself permission to be human.  Just talking/writing about it helps, so thanks for listening/reading.  It's gotten better over the week, finishing report cards helped a lot, but I still am going to really focus on taking care of myself and trying to maintain more a balance between life and work.

~

Month of Thanksgiving:

In case you were wondering, I have been writing these down each day so that I don't forget them by Sunday.  It's good to take time out of each day to reflect and find the positives...it does the soul good, especially on days like Monday.

Monday - I'm cheating and doing 2 today: 1) I'm thankful that tomorrow is a work day! The kids were BANANAS today and it wasn't my fault, I am convinced...I sent about 10 emails to parents today to inform them of their child's behavior...that is not normal, and I'm convinced they were still hopped up on Halloween candy.  So, in short, I'm very grateful that tomorrow is a work day!  2) I'm also so grateful for Grandmommy's cheerful spirit, even though she has been sick and cooped up in her apartment.  That lady has a way of seeing the silver linings everywhere she goes and in every situation.  I hope I'm even the slightest bit like her.

Tuesday - I'm thankful for a chance to revamp things in my classroom and reinvigorate my teaching.  I took some advise from the instructional coach at school and totally rearranged my classroom and I am liking it so far!

Wednesday - I'm thankful for the chance to walk to and from work.  It's nice to get 3+ miles in each day.  I'm also sadistically thankful for having lots of stairs to climb everyday.  I'm going to have thighs of steel by the end of the school year!  

Thursday - I'm thankful for my perseverance in busting through 10 report cards tonight.  We just got the template and instructions on Tuesday and 10 had to be finished by Friday.  I had a PD training today, which meant that I could get home early and work all afternoon and them.  So, 10 down, 9 to go and most of the grunt work is already done!

Friday - I'm thankful for date nights.  Matt and I both had a long week and we were ready to unwind and reconnect.  A nice dinner at a new place in the East Village with awesome song choices (coq au vin accompanied by The Thong Song, ha!) and an excursion in Brooklyn helped us do that.

[Pictures below are from the Festival of Lights in DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass), Brooklyn.  Tons of people showed up and the show was about 5 minutes long...some noise (I wouldn't really call it music) accompanied a light show.  Matt says, "He is thankful he didn't have to pay anything for that dumpy light show."  For what it was, it was fine.  We were just expecting more.]

Saturday - I'm thankful for a warm coat!  It's cold today!! I went for a run this morning and got that tight feeling in my chest and wheezy cough afterward because of sucking in so much cold air.  It still felt good to get out and move, but I'm glad that I have some wool socks and a good coat to bundle up in.  This is still nothing compared to what I'll face later in the year, I know...blah, blah, blah.

[On Saturday I ran and then finished report cards.  We took a nap - what a luxury - and then went to a  birthday party for a coworker of mine.  We sang karaoke and then went to a bar with live music and played skee ball (with a pumpkin in the way).  Lots of fun.]

Sunday - I'm thankful for a relaxing day with my husband.  I love just hanging out with him and doing nothing.  After more than 10 years together we are still just as (if not more) in love.  We make a good team!

I hope everyone can find lots of things to be thankful for this week.  Until next Sunday...