I'm a Teacher.

Well, it's over. 

The late nights, early mornings, panic attacks, pop quizzes, pre- and post-assessments, student teaching, sleep deprivation, and (hopefully) spontaneous crying jags. 

I finished my last paper for my last course, and will officially graduate with my Masters in Mathematics Education in August of 2015. 

I can't really explain how I feel. I'm happy that I have finally accomplished what I set out to do, but I feel a strange sense of loss. 

I'm sure I'll sort myself out in time.

In the meantime, I have my professional educator's license in the State of Utah. I am (not so) patiently waiting for New York State to get around to reviewing my application for my initial certification here. They've only had everything they need, including receipt of the fee, since April, so perhaps I'm rushing things. 

Ian Was Here

Dad's First Visit to a Hospital for Himself ... or...How to Completely Freak Out Your Daughter

My phone rang at 7:00 a.m. this morning, but I was already driving, on my way to an early morning errand, and didn't answer it. I finished my errand, stopped for my daily morning coffee at Sunoco, and headed in to work. At 8:00 a.m., I pulled my phone out of my purse, and saw the call I missed was from my Dad. He left me a voice mail.

"Kelly, I think I have to go to the emergency room....um, in fact, I'm sure I have to go to the emergency room," at which point, the phone clattered on his desk, he fumbled with it, and hung up.

To say, "I freaked," would be an gross understatement.

I immediately called my Dad's house number. No answer. I called his cell. No answer. I called LaniMom's cell. No answer. For the next few minutes, I used the office phone and my cell phone to continuously re-dial Dad's cell, LaniMom's cell, Dad's house, DadcellMomcellhouseDadcellMomcellhouseWHATHOSPITALDAMMIT??? I hit the Internet and started calling emergency rooms. Mercy Hospital? Not there. MAC Center? Not there. ECMC? Not there. St. Joe's? Not there. Sisters? Not there. Millard Fillmore Suburban? Not there. Hit the Internet again for a list of Urgent Care Centers. MASH? Not there...

At 8:17, my sister managed to get through to my cell between calls. I answered, "WHERE IS HE?!?!?!" No 'Hello', at top of my lungs, full-fledged, crying hysterically, freak-out mode. Who knew I could be so pleasant to talk to?

Mercy Hospital. Apparently I called before he had arrived. He's vomiting blood. That's all we know. 

I called my boss and told him I'm leaving, and by 8:28 a.m., I'm hitting the road.  I pull in to Mercy at 8:52 a.m., find parking, make my way to ER, find the corner they put him in...

...and promptly start crying and yelling at my father for not telling me where he went."I COULDN'T FIND YOU!!!"  and  "NEXT time you feel like visiting an Emergency Room, LEAVE ME THE NAME OF THE HOSPITAL!!!"

"Oh, dear," he says. He told me he pulled a Columbus. Didn't know where he was going, didn't know where he was when he got there, didn't know where he'd been when he got back, and did the whole trip on somebody else's money. 

Ay yi yi. It did the trick, though. I stopped crying, started laughing, and the wait began. 

Thus began a very, very long day.  It seems he began vomiting at 3 a.m., but didn't want to bother anybody, so he waited until 7 a.m. to call anyone. 

I assured him that, for future reference, a 3 a.m. call is just fine. Really. Trust me. Since the car accident, I sleep with my phone. Literally.

We spent a lot of time waiting. They hooked him up to an IV (but never unclamped it), took blood (and left a vial behind on the counter), and eventually emptied his stomach through an NG tube. Homeland Security could learn some things from the medical field....

All tests were inconclusive. He has to go for an endoscopy on Friday. We'll know more then. Hopefully.

Shotgun Rider-Tim McGraw

A new favorite. Who knew I'd get such a kick out of hanging with a friend and singing along with the radio? Not too many people I'd do that with...come to think of it, there are only two.

My 50th

From my friend, Steven. I'm so glad he found me again.

My jaw

It's rather amazing I can chew anything at all

Some of my Favorite Ian-in-Seattle Pictures

Comes The Dawn

After a while you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,
And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning
And company doesn’t mean security,
And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts
And presents aren’t promises,
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes open
With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child,
And you learn to build all your roads on today,
Because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans,
And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.
After a while you learn
That even sunshine burns if you get too much.
So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul,
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure...
That you really are strong,
And you really do have worth.
And you learn and learn...
With every goodbye you learn.

Author: Veronica A. Shoffstall

My New Favorite Song!

Compliments Keep Me Going.

I received a compliment yesterday that made me feel great! Between student teaching, working, raising my son, and trying to keep my home from turning into a disaster area from neglect, I do get a bit tired and down-trodden. 

My weekly journal entry for my student teaching segment was, "Reflect on how you are balancing teaching with your daily life and family. What are you doing (or what could you be doing) to take care of yourself and make it through demonstration teaching in a strong way? Based on your experience so far, describe any adjustments you could make to help the second half of your DT experiences go even more smoothly."  

Go even more smoothly?HA! I need to meet their pharmacist!  This is what I wrote in response: 

Adjustments? Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha! My typical week goes like this: 

Monday thru Friday: Up at 5:00 a.m. Shower, dress, have a cup of coffee while packing our lunch and dinner for the day, wake up the Boy Child and address his needs (I am a single mom), review lesson plan for the day, make the 3x5 card as my guide, leave at 7, arrive at school at 7:15, leave school at 3:30, pick up the Boy Child, go to work, arrive at work by 4:15, work until 9:15, go home, make sure lesson plan is in place for next day and if not, draft it with the appropriate worksheets, fall into bed completely exhausted and generally still completely dressed at 11.

Saturday: Up at 6:00 a.m. Shower, dress, have a cup of coffee while scribbling a grocery list for the following week, wake up the Boy Child, start lesson planning for following week, be at work by 10 with the Boy Child, leave work at 11:45 to take Boy Child to baseball camp, back at work by 12:05, leave work at 2:50 to pick up Boy Child from baseball camp, back at work by 3:10, order something to eat from someplace that delivers around 5, work until 10:30 p.m. (or later, if I need to put in more than 12.5 hours on the weekend to make my total hours at work 37.5), go home, fall into bed completely exhausted and generally still completely dressed between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., depending on how long I had to work.

Sunday: Up at 7:00 a.m. because by Sunday, I can’t get up at 5 or 6. Grab a cup of coffee and get laundry started, plan lessons for the week including worksheets and tests, eat whatever Boy Child prepares when he gets up and then quickly shop for groceries, prepare and freeze sandwiches for lunches/dinners for the week; get journal entry done for SGAK in Taskstream, respond to weekly discussion in edTPA community, finish lesson planning for week, fall into bed completely exhausted at 10.

Adjustment? Somewhere in here I have to cram writing my edTPA. It’s not going to get any better until the middle of May when I am done student teaching, unless somewhere, somehow, more hours get put into a day.  I cannot quit my job, or even take a leave of absence. If I don’t work, I don’t get paid. If I don’t get paid, the bills don’t get paid and we can’t eat and end up homeless. Homeless people generally do not have laptop computers and access to the internet, so obtaining my education would come to a screeching halt. Furthermore, test results are in, and it is discovered my son has a learning disability. He helps me how he can, but has needs of his own.

My son is doing the housecleaning, shoveling, taking out the trash, all of the things we did together before I started student teaching. He is on board and knows this situation is temporary.  It is what it is. The fact that this situation is temporary is what is getting my son and me through it. We can do anything as long as we know it won’t last forever. 

My mentor's response was great:   

WOW! You really have this down to a science...time management at its best! I totally understand that this is a stressful time in the life of a student teacher and that sometimes family takes second place. But this will soon pass and things will get back to semi normality - whatever that is. ;-) Hang in there!

I will, Denise. I sure will. Although my friends and family think I'm absolutely bonkers for wanting to teach math - to middle school kids, no less! - it is my dream, my goal, and my purpose. I will make it happen. 

Integrating Technology into My Classes

The kids LOVE to sing and dance...so why not give them song about Math? 

The Bucket List

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0825232/?ref_=ttqt_qt_tt

I loved this movie! 

First, I love Morgan Freeman's voice. Morgan Freeman's, Sam Elliott's, and James Earl Jones' voices are the best. I think I could listen to them for hours even if they were just reading the dictionary. 

Second, does anyone play a psychopathic personality any better than Jack Nicholson? Okay, so maybe he's not exactly a psychopath in this movie, but he definitely plays some character traits that are ... shallow? self-centered? crazy? Yes. All of the above. (Makes me wonder what he's like in real life.)

Then there is the whole 'bucket list' concept. I loved that some of the items on the list were intangible, like "laugh until I cry" and "witness something majestic". 

The movie was beautiful. The storyline:

"Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers have nothing in common except for their terminal illnesses. While sharing a hospital room together, they decide to leave it and do all the things they have ever wanted to do before they die according to their bucket list. In the process, both of them heal each other, become unlikely friends, and ultimately find joy in life." 

-Written by r2k443, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0825232/?ref_=ttqt_qt_tt

And yes, I cried at the end.  

Certification Testing

I am really not looking forward to my upcoming certification test. The first time I took it (and 'not passed') was an incredible experience.

I was instructed to arrive at the testing site, an elementary school, 45 minutes prior to the start of the exam. At that time, all students were herded into the auditorium, where we were read very specific instructions about what is and is not permitted at the testing site and in the exam rooms. For example, water is not permitted unless it is in a clear, plastic bottle with the label removed. No mechanical pencils. No purses or bags. Nothing with a power button, including cell phones, iPods, iPads, smart phones, mp3 players, etc., unless you are taking a Math test, and then only certain graphing calculators from a State-approved list are permitted. 

After the rules were read, we were escorted to classrooms to take our certification exams. The rules were again read. It was announced that the bathrooms would be closed for the first 45 minutes to hour of the exam. The monitors then began coming around the class to clear everyone's graphing calculators. 

One of the students in my room did not have an approved calculator. She had a scientific calculator, and said that was all she had. She was told it was not permitted, which she should have known prior to coming to take the exam because the list of approved calculators is sent with the admission ticket. She burst into hysterics and began asking if anyone had an extra calculator. (They are $100+ calculators; not likely anyone would be carrying an extra. Besides, we were not permitted to bring any purses or bags into the room. Where would we keep an extra calculator?) At this time, she is instructed to calm down or security would escort her out. My nerves were beginning to fray.

Then someone's cell phone went off. I couldn't believe it. After the 45 minute lecture that included "NOTHING WITH A POWER BUTTON"? We were held up until security arrived to escort him out. I noticed I had begun to tremble and was having trouble writing my name.

The next announcement? "The bathrooms are now closed."  I don't care if you haven't had anything to drink in a month, as soon as you are told you cannot use the bathroom, that's exactly what you need to do! All I could think of was Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop saying, "There is no bathroom!" 

By the time the test began, I couldn't remember my name. I'm not kidding. So when I opened the text booklet and had to find the volume of a rectangular prism, I drew a complete blank. I couldn't have added a column of figures at that point. 

This time, before the test, I am going to take some precautionary steps. I am going to make sure I get up early enough to have eggs for breakfast, because I will need protein to get me through the four hour exam. I will not have any coffee (which is a diuretic) and will have just one glass of milk. I will meditate before I leave, arrive early, and meditate again in my car. I will make sure I have new batteries in my (State-approved) graphing calculator. I will have two sharpened pencils with new erasers. And I will be calm.

Xanax, anyone? :D

Wine Glass Charms

Blizzard 2014

Welcome 2014!

From www.wallpapergang.com