Most teachers will probably tell you that one of the positive aspects about teaching, besides the obvious answer - helping kids become lifelong learners - or something along those lines, will be the breaks. (Side note- I promise that not all posts will be about teaching or school related things!) I don't mean the breaks that you get from tripping over a desk or small chair, I am talking about the breaks from going into your classroom every single day. Winter break. Spring Break. SUMMER BREAK. And if you are lucky and in a district that doesn't want their teachers to go insane by October, fall break. Yes, we miss our students. Yes, it is hard to get the students back into school mode after their sweet little vacay from academic life. Yes, it does seem a bit unfair that we get these breaks and feel a little guilty when someone asks how my two weeks off is going. It is understood that it is a definite perk of the job.
I will be the first to admit that I was practically high kicking my way out of the school on the Friday that Winter Break started. I sent the kids off with some small gifts, books, and a"don't forget to read, practice flash cards, and see you next year!" I packed up my things and 10 minutes later I was clinking glasses with some other teachers in celebration of a glorious two weeks - of not waking up at 4:00 a.m., spending all day making sure all my students needs were being met, and spending hours after work lesson planning, grading, and creating learning experiences. I went to sleep that night completely relaxed for the first time since August, knowing that I had two full weeks ahead of me to just, well, just be.
So here I am, four days in, and I have to say (and I feel like I should probably whisper it), it is more fabulous than I could imagine. The reason why? Observation. I feel extremely lucky to be able to feel like I have the time, a little aspect of life that is scarce for many people, to go out and finish getting ready for the holidays. And what have I noticed while out and about in the hustle of the holiday season? Kindness.
When I am in work mode during the school year, if I go anywhere, I try to get in and out and home to finish up any work that I need to do for school. A trip to the grocery store does not warrant any time to notice what the sweet conversation between the cashier and customer is like, or how strangers are helping each other, or the two older ladies talking about the different recipes they use to make chocolate toffee cookies (should have eavesdropped more and written them down!!). But in my short trip to the grocery store today I did notice these things. People were being kind to each other, and as I walked around crazily smiling to myself, I wondered what other little uplifting moments I had missed out on when I thought I didn't have time to notice them.
How thankful am I that I experienced this only four days into the break? Very. Because it got me thinking that I need to plan on spending the rest of the break soaking in any kindness going on around me. After the break? I still plan on taking the time to notice. And I can't wait to continue to get caught crazily smiling to myself.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Everything's Rosy
The bell rang, the students had left, and I was sitting at my desk staring at the wall deciding which of the 129378129387 tasks I had procrastinated on to tackle next. Someone knocked on my door, and I geared up to find out what child had left their jacket, or their homework, or their mind in my classroom. Instead, our lovely parent volunteer coordinator, Roseanne, walked in and took a seat. "Are you busy?" she asked.
Am I busy? Asking a teacher (or probably most people) this question is like asking if Saved By the Bell was the best Saturday morning show ever. YES, I AM busy. But hey, I will do just about anything to avoid the things I actually need to do, so I replied with a simple "No, I'm good."
A little background on Roseanne. She works a "part time" gig at our school as a parent volunteer coordinator. Finding parents to volunteer their time at our school is sometimes kind of like putting Adam Sandler in a "serious" movie. A lot of hard work and high hopes go into it, but the end result is not always quite right. Anyways, Roseanne does a really good job of reeling as many parents as she can into the good old 'bello. She hosts morning coffee meetings for parents, makes countless phone calls, and gives you an "I'll take care of it"when a teacher runs into her room all out of breath and desperate for copies that she forgot to make...not that I know what that's like or anything.... She even coaches the girls basketball team (and managed to be the only coach not yelling at me when I had to referee). All of this annnnnnd she does not have any kids that attend our school, she just does it because she loves helping others.
So back to my story....Roseanne walks in my room and asks if I can drive her to the Fresh and Easy a few miles away, and if we can pick up one of the parent volunteers on the way. My mind raced all flashback style as I vaguely remembered some fliers being sent home last week about a fundraiser at the Fresh and Easy. "I need to get there to work the fundraiser." she says. Ah yes, confirmed.
So we get all her "Fresh and Easy Supports Montebello" posters and pile in the car. I don't want to pry, but I am wondering what has happened to Roseanne's car because I know this woman lives in Mesa and so she can't have possibly walked to work. We started talking and somehow it came up that she didn't have enough money to pay her bills and so her car got repossessed. Break my heart #1. Sometimes her husband let's her take his truck if he can get a ride to work. But how does she get to and from Montebello on the days when she doesn't get to take the truck? "I take the light rail." Roseanne says.
This woman takes the light rail. From Mesa. That is 1 1/2 hours. Plus time to ride the city buses to her starting and ending destinations. To work her part time job at a school, where she is not a parent, but where she spends all her time trying to get other parents involved. Annnnnd she is going to work, for free, as a bagger at Fresh and Easy till 8:00 tonight to raise money for our school. Break my heart #2.
After dropping Roseanne off, I sped back to school and burst all Kramer style into my friend Nikki's room. I told her about Roseanne and how we better get our butts to Fresh and Easy and support this fund raiser. She and I went shopping, said hi to the other parent volunteers that were doing the fundraiser and left with armfuls of groceries. As I was driving home, I hit a wall of traffic. Usually, traffic is the one thing that can really wipe that smile off my face and erase every inch of positivity from my body. But today, it didn't. I sat there idling with all my new driver best friends, quietly thankful that I have a car to take me places, and that in the time it takes me to get to the westside, it still won't be as long as the time it takes Roseanne to get to work.
Roseanne is positive she can make money for our school, positive she can get parents to volunteer, positive she can get our girl's basketball team a win, positive she can help teachers...so positive that not even a 1 1/2 hour + commute can deter her from her goals. I wish I had remembered to capture a picture of her tonight, but I was too enthralled by how amazing she and the other volunteers were. I'm truly honored to be working with this woman, and next time I am stuck in traffic, I will just remember to keep those positivity inches on.
Am I busy? Asking a teacher (or probably most people) this question is like asking if Saved By the Bell was the best Saturday morning show ever. YES, I AM busy. But hey, I will do just about anything to avoid the things I actually need to do, so I replied with a simple "No, I'm good."
A little background on Roseanne. She works a "part time" gig at our school as a parent volunteer coordinator. Finding parents to volunteer their time at our school is sometimes kind of like putting Adam Sandler in a "serious" movie. A lot of hard work and high hopes go into it, but the end result is not always quite right. Anyways, Roseanne does a really good job of reeling as many parents as she can into the good old 'bello. She hosts morning coffee meetings for parents, makes countless phone calls, and gives you an "I'll take care of it"when a teacher runs into her room all out of breath and desperate for copies that she forgot to make...not that I know what that's like or anything.... She even coaches the girls basketball team (and managed to be the only coach not yelling at me when I had to referee). All of this annnnnnd she does not have any kids that attend our school, she just does it because she loves helping others.
So back to my story....Roseanne walks in my room and asks if I can drive her to the Fresh and Easy a few miles away, and if we can pick up one of the parent volunteers on the way. My mind raced all flashback style as I vaguely remembered some fliers being sent home last week about a fundraiser at the Fresh and Easy. "I need to get there to work the fundraiser." she says. Ah yes, confirmed.
So we get all her "Fresh and Easy Supports Montebello" posters and pile in the car. I don't want to pry, but I am wondering what has happened to Roseanne's car because I know this woman lives in Mesa and so she can't have possibly walked to work. We started talking and somehow it came up that she didn't have enough money to pay her bills and so her car got repossessed. Break my heart #1. Sometimes her husband let's her take his truck if he can get a ride to work. But how does she get to and from Montebello on the days when she doesn't get to take the truck? "I take the light rail." Roseanne says.
This woman takes the light rail. From Mesa. That is 1 1/2 hours. Plus time to ride the city buses to her starting and ending destinations. To work her part time job at a school, where she is not a parent, but where she spends all her time trying to get other parents involved. Annnnnd she is going to work, for free, as a bagger at Fresh and Easy till 8:00 tonight to raise money for our school. Break my heart #2.
After dropping Roseanne off, I sped back to school and burst all Kramer style into my friend Nikki's room. I told her about Roseanne and how we better get our butts to Fresh and Easy and support this fund raiser. She and I went shopping, said hi to the other parent volunteers that were doing the fundraiser and left with armfuls of groceries. As I was driving home, I hit a wall of traffic. Usually, traffic is the one thing that can really wipe that smile off my face and erase every inch of positivity from my body. But today, it didn't. I sat there idling with all my new driver best friends, quietly thankful that I have a car to take me places, and that in the time it takes me to get to the westside, it still won't be as long as the time it takes Roseanne to get to work.
Roseanne is positive she can make money for our school, positive she can get parents to volunteer, positive she can get our girl's basketball team a win, positive she can help teachers...so positive that not even a 1 1/2 hour + commute can deter her from her goals. I wish I had remembered to capture a picture of her tonight, but I was too enthralled by how amazing she and the other volunteers were. I'm truly honored to be working with this woman, and next time I am stuck in traffic, I will just remember to keep those positivity inches on.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Super Powers
Every year I get the grand opportunity to join the ladies of Girl Power and help them shop for "Christmas Angels." I look forward to this every year. Girl Power is a club at our school for fifth and sixth grade girls, and it primarily focuses on community service. These girls work hard every year to better the community they live in...and trust me when I say this...it isn't easy making the community around our school better. These girls are coming from a tough place, and it is just pretty cool that they are willing to spend their Saturday shopping for kids that are less fortunate (or in some cases-as unfortunate) as themselves.
Sooo there we are every December ready to shop. It isn't always easy keeping track of 4-5 girls in a mall, especially being a distracted shopper myself. But somehow we always manage pick out our angels we are going to shop for, get the gifts, and get to Peter Piper Pizza to celebrate before the time is up...I sometimes feel like I am in an episode of Supermarket Sweep, but with toys and clothes instead of food flying about in the aisles.
This year I only had three girls. They decided to pick two kids to shop for, that way they could spend more on each kid. We were at Metro Center, which apparently has decided that toys are not as important to have in their mall as K-Momo, K-Momo clone 1, K-Momo clone 2, and so on. We were on a mission to find a baby doll, tea set, arts and crafts, a board game, and clothes. Let's just say, in between the latest in club wear, we were able to find these items. Mission Accomplished. On our way to drop off all the gifts, we passed by a delightful little accessories shop, Tinkerbell. The girls all squealed like, well, little girls and asked if we could go in. I said sure and figured it would be a good time to try and count out how much we had spent on each kid so I could report it later. As I sat in Tinkerbell and was counting, I could hear the girls oohing and ahhing over all the flashy accessories. One of the girls, Yessenia, and brought $5.00 (probably her only $5.00) with her and said she was going to buy some things. I saw what she was buying, told her to go for it, and smiled thinking about how awesome/funny she was going to look in the huge bright orange flowered headband she was buying.
The girls and I turned in our gifts and headed to my car to get our tired shopping butts to the one and only Peter Piper Pizza. Once we were in and they had their tokens I gave them all a big hug and said I had to go. Then, the girls all giggled and told me to wait. They held out their shiny pink Tinkerbell bag and said, "Miss Mathis, we got these for you." I was shocked! I smiled and told them that they didn't need to do that, and that they should keep it, but I loved that they thought of me.
The girls insisted that it was for me, and they liked spending time with me that day, and they were thankful I had bought them some treats along the way. All I had gotten them was some lemonade from Hot Dog on a Stick (only the best for my girls!) and some chocolates from a store.
I practically skipped out of the PPP. How amazing is it that these girls, who don't come from much themselves, are sweet enough to spend all day shopping for others, and then they spend the only money that they had brought themselves on me? I am totally undeserving of it, and completely humbled.
Sooo there we are every December ready to shop. It isn't always easy keeping track of 4-5 girls in a mall, especially being a distracted shopper myself. But somehow we always manage pick out our angels we are going to shop for, get the gifts, and get to Peter Piper Pizza to celebrate before the time is up...I sometimes feel like I am in an episode of Supermarket Sweep, but with toys and clothes instead of food flying about in the aisles.
This year I only had three girls. They decided to pick two kids to shop for, that way they could spend more on each kid. We were at Metro Center, which apparently has decided that toys are not as important to have in their mall as K-Momo, K-Momo clone 1, K-Momo clone 2, and so on. We were on a mission to find a baby doll, tea set, arts and crafts, a board game, and clothes. Let's just say, in between the latest in club wear, we were able to find these items. Mission Accomplished. On our way to drop off all the gifts, we passed by a delightful little accessories shop, Tinkerbell. The girls all squealed like, well, little girls and asked if we could go in. I said sure and figured it would be a good time to try and count out how much we had spent on each kid so I could report it later. As I sat in Tinkerbell and was counting, I could hear the girls oohing and ahhing over all the flashy accessories. One of the girls, Yessenia, and brought $5.00 (probably her only $5.00) with her and said she was going to buy some things. I saw what she was buying, told her to go for it, and smiled thinking about how awesome/funny she was going to look in the huge bright orange flowered headband she was buying.
The girls and I turned in our gifts and headed to my car to get our tired shopping butts to the one and only Peter Piper Pizza. Once we were in and they had their tokens I gave them all a big hug and said I had to go. Then, the girls all giggled and told me to wait. They held out their shiny pink Tinkerbell bag and said, "Miss Mathis, we got these for you." I was shocked! I smiled and told them that they didn't need to do that, and that they should keep it, but I loved that they thought of me.
The girls insisted that it was for me, and they liked spending time with me that day, and they were thankful I had bought them some treats along the way. All I had gotten them was some lemonade from Hot Dog on a Stick (only the best for my girls!) and some chocolates from a store.
I practically skipped out of the PPP. How amazing is it that these girls, who don't come from much themselves, are sweet enough to spend all day shopping for others, and then they spend the only money that they had brought themselves on me? I am totally undeserving of it, and completely humbled.
My positively (yeah- you can expect a lot of play on that word!) fabulous new jewelery!
Riding the Blogging Train
Yesterday, I was cruising around the ghetto fabulous Metro Center with some amazing fifth and sixth grade ladies from my school. (More on that later...oohhh, promise of another post!) As I watched them try to pick out some presents for some kids other than themselves, I thought "People need to know about this!! These girls are doing something awesome and how am I going to tell all my friends and family! Their phones are going to be blowing up! If only there was a way to share this information. with everyone. at once..." And so I admitted to myself what I have fought for a long time, that blogging is a good idea (yes, you were right Traci, Heather, Thomas, and...)
I tend to be a glass half full kind of gal. (And if there is something delicious in that glass, I want it filled to the brim...yes I am talking to you new passion fruit wine I had last night!) I hope to focus on some of the fabulous and positive things that I see going on around me. Lucky for me, I seem to surround myself with people who are incredible, so there should be a lot to write about.
So today starts a new beginning for me. And while that sounds waaaaay more profound than necessary, I am excited about it.
I tend to be a glass half full kind of gal. (And if there is something delicious in that glass, I want it filled to the brim...yes I am talking to you new passion fruit wine I had last night!) I hope to focus on some of the fabulous and positive things that I see going on around me. Lucky for me, I seem to surround myself with people who are incredible, so there should be a lot to write about.
So today starts a new beginning for me. And while that sounds waaaaay more profound than necessary, I am excited about it.
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