Three Years. What a ride...

 I feel like I'm going into confession... Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been three years since my last blog posting. 

To say it's been a wild ride would be an understatement. Wild. Crazy. Up. Down. 2021 started with a bang. Life circumstances changed drastically for me. I don't have the stamina to go into details about what happened; however, I will say that the outcome was better than I could have imagined. 

We sold our house on Pitcher Road in 2021, and we lived a minimalist life for eleven months. My MIL passed away in October 2021. We went to Mexico in December 2021. In April of 2022, my husband and I took the trip of a lifetime: a Viking river cruise from Paris to Prague. In June 2022, we went to Italy, Greece, and Croatia. In August 2022, I got my first teaching position as a 7th Grade ELAR teacher at Sam Rayburn Middle School in San Antonio. In June 2023, we went to Spain, France, and Italy. In August 2023, I started my second year of teaching. 

It's Christmas Day 2023, and I am feeling blessed. I'm moving forward and enjoying life.

Reset. Perspective. And other things I tell myself to get through.

 As I sit here with my coffee with Peppermint Mocha creamer, dog snuggled on my lap, Christmas lights all aglow and my youngest lovebug drawing anime, I reminisce about the year that 2020 has been. What a year. I know. So many people are saying the same thing. This isn't new, and I have no true insight that's going to be magical for others; however, I do have a different perspective for myself. That means everything to me in this moment. 

If you had asked me in March what my biggest struggle was, I would have told you "making it through Demonstration Teaching in one piece" because that was my biggest struggle. It's not so much that it was "hard" but it was time-consuming. I loved it! It is the greatest experience of my WGU scholastic career. Amazing host teacher and amazing third-graders. It pretty much became clear that third grade is where I wanted to be. On March 6, 2020 I taught my last lesson of my Teacher Work Sample unit: Area and Perimeter. We did some fun things because it was the Friday before Spring Break and we were all ready to have a break! January and February are long months with very few breaks. In the world of education, a lot of data happens during those months. It can be exhausting. I said good bye to my students, wishing them a great Spring Break, thinking I'd see them in the classroom on March 16. 

My mama arrived on the afternoon of March 6 and we were so ready to have her! We had been anticipating her visit for weeks!

Spring Break started with a competition on March 7. Winter Guard performed their "No Strings" show and received a fourth place finish. We came back from that competition ready to do what it took to improve and make it to State again as we did in 2019. Plans were made to chill and rest for Spring Break. Hubby went to visit his mom in New Mexico to take care of some things. Life was pretty good, all things considered. None of us had any idea of what was coming. Spring Break was extended a week. What a bonus! We still didn't have any idea of what was coming. We knew it was called Covid-19. We knew it was highly contagious. Beyond that, we knew nothing. School went virtual. 

Life moved forward but I could not. I focused what energy I had on completing my DT and preparing for graduation and licensure. I did everything that I could to make my daughter's seventeenth birthday memorable. I could not escape the fear of the virus. There was a lull, we all got complacent. Took a trip to see family. Yet, I wasn't fully embracing life and the process of moving forward. I kept telling myself, it's okay to feel this way. Reminding myself that this was new, and it was okay to process it however I needed to because we'd never experienced something of this proportion in my lifetime (that I remember at least). 

Those are the lies that I told myself to get through. That I just needed a reset and then everything would be fine again. I just needed to change perspective and appreciate the good things that I have in my life. Pandemic fatigue is real. Disillusionment with the American political system is real. Don't just tell yourself that you need to suck it up. Don't tell yourself it's weak to feel afraid and overwhelmed. We are in unprecedented times. There isn't another way to explain it. 

How has my perspective changed? I went through something life-altering in November. I got sick. And it was scary. And I still feel it. But, now I have an experience to share and I don't think that I could have gotten through it without my faith. I have a renewed sense of hope. I believe that we will get through but I will never again tell somebody "suck it up" and that "everything is gonna be okay." I think we all know that but we need to be able to feel what we feel in that moment. And that's okay. 

The Longest Year Ever.

 Where do I begin? Um. Yeah. I don't even know. I haven't blogged in over two years. No shame here. Sorry. Life, school, marching band and a lot of other things happened during that time. I cannot even begin to comprehend how I managed. No lie. 

Here's a brief recap of the last two years: marching band, cruise, school (Mom, Dad & kiddos), Christmas, Hockey, Winter Guard, marching band, school, family cruise, Christmas, Hockey, Winter Guard, COVID-19, quarantine, demonstration teaching, distance learning, virtual band camp, EPIC road trip in brand new travel trailer, stockpiling of hand soaps, graduation and teacher licensure, senior pics, senior year... Holy smokes... We were busy in 2019/2019 and confined for most of 2020. Yikes. 

2018

Summer Band Camp

Marching Band

2018 Marching Show: 1,001 Nights

Sophomore Homecoming Mum

Sophomore Pink Out Game

2018 Carnival Valor Western Caribbean Cruise with Honey Bunches

2019 Winter Guard Show: Statuesque

2019 TCGC Scholastic AA State Champions!

HAMILTON! (2019)

Twenty One Pilots Concert (2019)

Whew. That's not even all of 2019! I'm taking a break, and I'll add more to this post as time permits. I'll publish as is, not sure if this blog is frequented anymore but it's great reference for me. Hopefully it'll preserve my memories. 😂😂😂

Okay, now for the rest of the pictures? Maybe. We will see how that works out. 

Labor Day Weekend Trip to Kemah, TX 2019

2019 Marching Show: 07 December 1941

USBands National Champions at The Salute to Veteran's

November 11, 2019 

Best Color Guard

Family Cruise to Grand Turk

November 2019

Winter Guard Show 2020: No Strings

And then the world descended into chaos...

COVID-19

Rainy Days and Mondays.

It's another Monday here in the Lonestar state and we're in the middle of a thunderstorm. I am very thankful for the rain it's bringing because we had such a dry spring. We need the rain to bring green to the brown grass. We're also in Stage 2 water restriction so I am hoping that the rain we are getting will help alleviate the stress on the Aquifer.

Summer break is in full swing and this summer has been a doozy! I can't even begin to wrap my brain around all that has happened this summer. We took a family vacation and Bug was able to go with us which is awesome. It doesn't usually happen that way. Of course, it's still been a busy summer and Band Camp starts in two weeks. UGH. And before you know it, it'll be time for school to start again.

I am enjoying the time with my love bugs but I am feeling more stressed this summer than I normally do. It's most likely the combination of having all of the kids home and trying to get my coursework done. I wanted to accelerate a bit this summer but I don't think that it's going to happen. I am trying to make peace with that.

So, as I sit here enjoying my coffee, I am thankful for the time that I have been given. And I am trying to get my kitchen mojo back. There's a lot of things that I'm trying to get back. It's going to take some time. 💛 but that's okay.

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday's 10

I have not done a Tuesday 10 for awhile but I think it's time to do another one!

1. I am currently working on getting my BAISK8 from WGU, but teaching is not my end goal.

2. During my first round of college (1996-2000), I tanked my credit. I rebuilt it and then tanked it again after my divorce from the first hubby. After getting remarried, I avoided my credit and buried my head in the sand, feeling like my current husband could handle things. I am currently working on rebuilding my credit and have been since 2015.

3. Up until September 2017, I was pretty good at menu planning and keeping to a specific schedule for cleaning. Going back to school is hard, yo!

4. I LOVE psychology and counseling. It's fascinating to learn how the brain works and trying to find ways to reach the minds of my children.

5. My favorite bird is the Northern Cardinal.

6. I recently started a project that requires going through my old photos. This is very nostalgic. 💛

7. For 2018, I have read ONE book for fun. Last year I had over 50 books read for enjoyment.

8. I drive a 2018 Nissan Rogue that is equipped with a navigation system. I don't know how I managed with just Apple Maps for navigation until now. 😂😂😂

9. I'm pretty hardcore Apple product fan. iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro. I love how everything transfers between the three seamlessly!

10. I turned 40 in April. I thought I'd feel more accomplished by the time I turned 40. That's ok. I'm working on it.

Where I've been...

This year has been a crazy rollercoaster ride. It's been nearly a year since my last post and I've accomplished a lot but I've also have some setbacks. It's okay. I am trying not to be too hard on myself.

In June of 2017, I started the process of going back to school. It wasn't an easy process. It'd been seventeen years since I finished at Bemidji State University and twenty-one years since I graduated from high school. I had to track down transcripts and it wasn't just my college transcripts. No. I had to track down my AP scores from high school. Yeah. My records were so old, it wasn't available via the online database. Nope. I had to fill out a form to have it processed. As in, a paper form. As in, print it out and use a pen! What?! Okay, not to be melodramatic but, that was quite the process! I had no way of tracking how long it would take my records to get from point A to point B. That's hard for a planner like me. Little did I know that it was only the beginning of having to learn how to adjust my sails because there were a lot of changes that happened that I couldn't just "plan" for. I had to learn to rely on the process to unfold as it would unfold. That was hard for me.

Once everything was in place, I was set to start school at WGU-Texas on September 1, 2017. My term was six months and included four courses. I was able to complete the four courses within the first four months and then I moved one forward one term. And I'm now on my second term and I have completed two courses in two months. I'm still feeling pretty good about the progress I'm making in school. However, my home life and personal life has taken a little bit of a hit, and it's bruised the ego a bit.

My brain has been exhausted from trying to do the education thing and it takes a toll on my body. My housework has taken a back seat to school and I've not kept up with the cleaning and laundry like I had been. This is very embarrassing to me. It's hard to admit. At what point do you tell yourself it's okay to pursue your dreams and ask for help in the areas where you need it? It's a slow process. I take it day by day. That's all that I can do.

But, I am proud of myself, and I know that my family is too. That's all that matters. 💛