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Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A New Normal: Life Goes On

It's difficult to adjust to a new normal.  Back to school definitely means several changes, but those changes are nothing in comparison to something a coworker of mine is facing.

Her son, a young man, was recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder that is/has destroyed his kidneys.  He's currently going through dialysis and learning what it will be like to live with a disease that cannot be cured.  My heart breaks for them, but I find a significant amount of inspiration in her "can do" attitude. 

In other news, I'm officially getting back into lesson planning mode.  It's not pretty, ya'll.  I took a complete break over the summer.   As in, I did nothing.

Honestly, though, I think I needed to do nothing.  I needed some time without obligations.  Time to really rest.  Time to heal.  And it was good.

But now?  I realize that I'd like to incorporate a lot of new things in my classroom, and I haven't really looked at how to make that possible.  Mostly, I'm not super pleased with everything I do in my English II class.  We don't just read stories and fill out worksheets, but I feel like there are too many days of mundane tasks like that.  I'd like to get a little more interactive and make the students more responsible for their learning.  I'll let you know how that goes.  (*Note that I've been running around so panicked at work that I forgot my property taxes were due.  And to return a call to a woman at my bank.  And to get gas.  Do you see a sad, sad pattern here?  *SIGH*)

This weekend, I'll be heading up north with Favorite to visit an old friend of mine.  I haven't seen her since she got married three years ago, and I'm excited.  I'll post some pictures of our visit when I get back.

Oh, and grad school starts Tuesday.  My prof emailed earlier this week, and I'm pretty much already panicking over one of the requirements.  Here's to praying for a sense of organization!

(Oh, and feel free to pray for my friend, Morgan, to go into labor.  She's way pregnant and I think ready to meet her son.)

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