Giving Thanks

The past 12 months have been pretty rough for me, but I am hopeful that the holidays will signal the beginning of a new, better year. I used to measure time in school years as opposed to calendar years, as I'm sure all teachers do, but lately the marker of time for me tends to be events and big things that have happened. It was exactly a year ago that the whole situation in Peru started and that marked the beginning of what I didn't know would be an incredibly hard year for a variety of reasons. But that 12 month period of change, uncertainty, pain, disappointment, and frustration is over and while I am still dealing with many things that occurred during that time and I still have lots to come to terms with, I am looking forward to the next 12 months and am figuring that they really can't be as bad as the last 12 have been.

In the midst of all the bad stuff this past year, there have been moments of great joy and happiness and I am incredibly thankful for those. I was sitting in church last week (zoning out during Mom's sermon - sorry!), thinking about what I had to be thankful for, given how this year has played out, and while the list isn't incredibly long, it is very important to me. These things have kept me going this year and have helped me to remember that there are good things out there and that I should continue to look forward.

It seemed appropriate that the calendar end of my awful 12 months should fall at Thanksgiving, when we pause to remember what we are thankful for. So here is my list of things I am so thankful for in the past year:

1. My friends who have held me up and loved me through this entire year, even when I may have been a bit difficult to love. I hope I can be as good a friend to all of you as you have been to me.
2. My mom, who is truly the bravest person I know. As much as I think I am all grown up and I don't need her to teach me things and mother me anymore, I realize that she is constantly striving to grow and be a better person and I CAN still learn from her example.
3. The kids in my life who give me lots of hugs, make me smile despite whatever else is going on, and remind me that I am loved. Caitlin, Lauren, Alyssa, Ross & Kassie Clark, Christel & Faith Bellen, and Emerson, Alex, & Eloise Moore bring me lots of joy.

And some highlights of the year, in the midst of all the rough patches:
1. Family dinners in Lima with Reada, Dave, and Tim
2. Karisti's visit to Peru the month before I left
3. Chicago and Iowa with Karisti and Michelle
4. Footnotes at Wanakee
5. George's Pond with Mom, Marc and Megan

I am very thankful for all the good things in my life and I look forward to a new 12 months ahead. Happy Thanksgiving!

Update

I feel the need to blog today because a) I haven't updated in a while, and b) I changed the background/layout of my blog and I want to show it off. However, there hasn't been a ton going on lately, so I'm afraid the update may not be super exciting.

I'm continuing to substitute, with varying degrees of success. I had a few weeks where it was really slow and I only subbed one day each week. That was rough. Then this week hit and I ended up subbing 4 days (and could have done a 5th, but chose not to). This week's subbing was at a local elementary school that I really like. I never thought I would enjoy being back in an elementary school, but the kids and teachers at this particular school are really great. And I've learned some important things about myself and what I want in terms of teaching, specifically the age range of kids that I enjoy working with. High school is obviously my first love and I know I am a good high school teacher. But I also really like teaching kindergarten. Who knew??? I can't imagine I would ever choose to teach kindergarten over high school, but at least I know I can survive a day with 18 five year olds and hold my own. Now 2nd grade is another story... no thanks! It looks like I can do either end of the age spectrum, but not the middle. Keep me away from any classes older than 1st grade and younger than 7th grade and I will be a happy teacher.

In addition to subbing, I've started actively looking for full time jobs for next year, and even for the rest of this year if something comes up. I had a lead about a long term sub position at Singapore American School starting in February that was really appealing to me, but they ended up hiring locally (thanks to Michelle M. for all her help - if she and I had had our way, we'd be teaching together in the same school again). I'm following a few other leads for possible jobs for the rest of this year, but nothing that I am ready to write about yet and possibly jinx (fate/karma/luck hasn't been on my side this year, so I'm not taking any chances). And as for next year, who knows!! The international schools are starting to post their openings for the 2009-2010 school year and more jobs will be posted over the next month, with hiring to start in full force after Christmas. There is a tentative opening in Prague that I'm going to pursue and this job in Singapore might open up for an overseas hire for the fall, so that is an option too. And jobs at private schools in the States will start to be posted, so hopefully CS&A (the recruiting company I'm using this year) will start to refer me to some of those jobs too. I really have no idea where I'll be in the fall, but I'm open to anything at this point. !

So, that's the story for now. It is snowing here in Maine today, so I'm hunkered down for the day. I think I see some knitting and quilting in my afternoon/evening plans... I hope you are warm and cozy wherever you are and are enjoying this winter Saturday!

By the way, any guesses where the picture on the top of my blog was taken? I've been going through pictures from the last 4 years and reminiscing. I'll give you a hint - for those of you who received my Ofoto albums when I lived in Berlin, you've seen this picture before. It was taken exactly 4 years ago next weekend - my first Thanksgiving overseas. Any guesses??

It's A New Day

Here is a link to the new will.i.am video "It's A New Day". I highly recommend checking it out. Very inspiring. It is truly the dawn of a new day in our country!!

November Weekend

I've decided to be creative this winter and try to make some Christmas presents. I got into quilting in the year before I left for Berlin and started to make a quilt for myself that I never finished. Stacey was a great, very patient teacher, but I don't think I had enough patience for it myself. However, now that I am living at home and not getting many calls for subbing, I have a lot of time on my hands, so I am much more focused this time around. Here is the quilt I'm making, in its earliest stage. There will be no more pictures of it until it is done, as much as I would love to show it off in its various stages of completion. But the quilt is a gift for someone who reads this blog, so I don't want to give anymore of it away. Look back for a picture of the completed quilt after Christmas.

Saturday night I went over to UMaine Orono to hear Kate play her oboe recital. Kate was one of my students at West and we've kept in touch over the last few years. Her recital was great and I"m so glad I could be there! I'm very proud of her and all she has accomplished as a musician in the last 4 years. She has grown so much since the last time I heard her and it was so fun to see her play again. She played a great piece by Copland, "Quiet City", that I loved and I highly recommend you give a listen to.

On Sunday Mom and I drove to Portland to meet the Clarks for a late lunch/early dinner. I haven't seen them since I left Hedding in August (they have a cottage there too so I got to see them every day throughout the summer) and it was great to be with them and to get lots of hugs and love from the kids. Here we all are at Build A Bear - my mom decided to build a Navy bear for Ian, the 2 year old son of our friend Melissa (she is in the Navy). The kids loved helping build the bear and we put 9 hearts inside the bear to send our love to Ian.

Our new history

President Obama

The headline of the Bangor Daily News today reads "America's Next President: OBAMA". I bought a newspaper today so I could save this headline. I want to have this newspaper to look at years and years from now and be reminded of the amazing time we are living in right now. I want to remember the incredible change that has occurred in our country and I want to be reminded of how proud I am to be an American at this very moment. I am filled with joy and hope!!

Last Weekend

I spent last weekend in NH and while I didn't get a picture of myself in my fabulous ladybug costume at Sarah and Reg's party, I did take some pictures of sweet little Faith Marie. She was 3 weeks old on Sunday and she is beautiful. It is amazing how much she looks like Christel did when she was a baby. Stacey brought out some pictures to compare and they are nearly identical!

Christel is quite enamored with her little sister, though she had some issues sharing the attention as the night progressed. Remember, she is only 3 1/2, so this has definitely thrown her world for a bit of a loop. It took me years to get used to my brother after he arrived when I was 3 1/2!! We did manage to convince her to snuggle with Faith and me for a few pictures, so here I am with my goddaughter and her baby sister. They are too cute!!

All and all, it was a good weekend in NH. I ended up spending the majority of my time at Sarah and Reg's, which is always nice. Sorry I don't have pictures to show from the Halloween party, but it was fun - a keg of Long Trail, lots of food and candy, and a big bonfire in the yard. My costume was a hit and a good time was had by all. The rest of the weekend was pretty low-key, which is fine with me. It was nice just to be in NH with my friends - I feel like it had been forever since I had been down there (more like 4 weeks, but it felt like forever).

YES WE CAN!!!