SCHOOLS OUT!!!!!!!!

It just seems so surreal to me. I mean it is FINALLY over. And when the day came, it was so anticlimactic. It doesn't feel like the last day but doesn't feel like we have to go back next week either. I was neither excited nor relieved when the day was over. I was like I was EVERY other day for the past 180..........TIRED. So here is to summer which seems to get shorter every year. Here is to no more schoolwork, no more books, no more students' dirty looks. I know that is not how the song goes but in this day and age it seems about right to me. Summer doesn't "officially" begin until next month but I say, "let's get this party started." And with that said, it is 9:41 pm, and I am GOING TO BED!!! Party hard dudes :0)

"CONSTANTS" IN OUR LIVES

This almost seems like a New Year's post but seriously I was sitting here thinking about this time last year. WOW!!! A lot has happened/changed since then. And maybe that is true of every year as our lives are constantly changing and evolving or at least I hope they are as we age and grow. I would hate to think that my LIFE was a constant. There are CONSTANTS in my life but I hope that my life is fluid and that I am constantly growing and changing.

A year ago this weekend, we found out that George had high blood pressure. That same weekend they over medicated him and we thought he was having a stroke. Frantic rush to the emergency room and an overnight stay in the hospital. Worry for me and TERROR for him.
NOW.......blood pressure is finally stable or perhaps I should say CONSTANT and last week we finally received a prescription for the meds instead of samples. So we are good to go.

A year ago this weekend, George came out of the closet with his smoking. Okay, he was forced out after the whole hospital ordeal. See, we knew he smoked but pretended not to so he would not smoke as much.
NOW...we know and he smokes all the time (or so it seems to me). Smoking has become another CONSTANT in my life. (pray for me about that as I hate, loathe, despise, abhor, abominate it)

A year ago this weekend, I was planning Katie's graduation party and preparing myself for her move to the dorms at ASU.
NOW...she is back home after a successful start at college and now I prepare myself for her move to LUBBOCK in August. Her being "on her own" is now a constant in our lives.

A year ago we discovered that her cheerleading injury in MARCH had left a HOLE in her shoulder muscle that had gone undetected for two months. She was scheduled for surgery which would leave her literally incapacitated for most of the summer.
NOW....she is "healed" but her body is not "as it was". Now 96% mobility is the new constant for her shoulder. And as her mom, I feel bad for the pain she had to endure and the damage that is left behind.

A year ago, I was tired of school, ready for it to be over, and counting the days to the end .
NOW.. I STILL AM!! And EVERY YEAR that remains a CONSTANT!!!!

She's Coming Home TODAY!!!

After moving out in August, Katie is coming back home today. Granted it is only for 11-12 weeks before she moves to Lubbock but starting today she will be back under our roof. My friends asked me if I was excited and I hesitated. We all three have adjusted to her being gone and "on her own" and George and I have had to adjust to being "on our own". So I do see another adjustment coming. And at the Shelton household we don't adjust to ANYTHING well. I mean we do eventually accept change but not without a lot of "drama" before hand. My rule for all three of us, stated two nights ago before the MOVE started, that we were all going to have to readjust ( I mean 9 months IS a long time) and that in the process we needed to be patient and KIND. Something else we don't do well I might add. :0) So, yes, my baby girl is returning to the nest today. I am excited, I am expectant, and a little anxious. I have all these grand ideas about how much we have all changed and grown in these last months but in my heart I know that in a matter of minutes of us all being together we will revert back to the normal (using the term loosely) Shelton household routine. "What time is supper?" "I am hungry." "Dad, did you smoke IN my bathroom?" "Turn your music down!" "Don't use that tone with me" "MOM (with an eye roll thrown in) and so forth. So yeah, perhaps we aren't as enlightened as I think/hope we are. But in the end............none of that matters..............She is coming HOME today and down deep..........I am not only excited.......I AM THRILLED!!!

Top Ten Things About May

I love February (see previous blog of same title) but am not a fan of May even though I love spring (also previous blog title). Why do I hate May? I mean it has Mother's Day (and we should have our own MONTH instead of just a day are you kiding me) but really there is nothing redeeming about May. Here are the top ten things I identify with the month of May

10) School is almost out so time DRAGS by

9) The weather can't decide if it is spring or summer

8) What to wear (see above)

7) Graduation announcements (from everyone and their dog which means gifts)

6) Swimsuit season is rapidly approaching (now there's a fun thought)

5) Mosquitos and flies come out of hibernation or wherever they have been since October

4) My clock at school is broken (see previous blog)

3) There is SOMETHING at school EVERY day and NONE OF IT is school related

2) Kids/Teachers are sick of school so they are impossible!!

And the number one thing I identify with the month of May

THE AGONIZING COUNTDOWN UNTIL SCHOOL IS OUT

And as of today it is 10 days which in teacher days is really 17!!! Seriously

My Clock Is Broken

I sit here gazing at a clock that NEVER MOVES. I know it has batteries and I know it works but the minutes are dragging by. The minutes? Even the seconds as the second hand, tired of moving so slowly I am sure, has fallen off and is resting at the bottom of the clock. The clock at the back of my room that HAS a working second hand barely moves either. I mean a second is a long time. OR.........perhaps it is because we are ELEVEN days away from the end of the school year and time has ground to a halt? At this time of year, it is so hard to be motivated and EVEN harder to motivate kids. So we (teachers and students) shut down and show up. We try to manage the time but as sick as we are of school the students are even sicker. They have spent their entire year focusing on the TAKS test (I teach juniors who have to pass it in order to graduate) and now that it is behind them, they are basically through with school. And I don't blame them. We have to teach EVERYTHING BEFORE the test so they can pass it and then we have 4-5 weeks of NOTHING. There is just so much busy work you can have them do and so many videos you can show and then you are busted. Nothing, nada, zilch...........That is where we are today. The weather outside is gorgeous, you can almost TASTE summer, and we are ALL tired. Yet here we are............in school..........trying to create something ELSE to teach these kiddoes and keep it upbeat and entertaining at the same time. I think after TAKS we should call the whole thing off. I mean we have met the state requirement...........so instead of "playing" school, we should tell the kids "you did the job, you have been assessed for mastery and we will let you know how you did, enjoy your summer,because if you failed you aren't going to graduate unless you take the test AGAIN!" And to teachers, "you taught your curriculum, you followed your scope and sequence, the test has been given, we will let you know your results, enjoy your summer because if results are bad you are going to lose your job!" and call it a day. And in the time it has taken me to write this...............the clock has NOT MOVED at all. I think it is surely broken. And there is something wrong with my calendar as well because there is NO WAY it can only be TUESDAY!!!!

FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR

I have a friend who HATES spring!! I am using the term "friend" loosely here because how can you possibly hate spring? Everything is turning green, the birds are building nests, flowers are blooming, the days are warm and the nights are cool. Okay that has only been true about the weather 2 times since spring started but still. SHE hates it because she hates to do yard work. I think it is rather discriminatory to hate a season because of a chore that just happens to coincide with it. I think she needs a "lawn boy". Preferably one that is young, cute and works with his shirt off. I have a lawn boy. His name is George and he is NOT ALLOWED to work with his shirt off. We do have neighbors you know. I have always loved spring. As a child, I saw it as a prelude to summer and daylight lasting longer which meant more time outside. As a young teen, it meant shorts, tank tops, and flip flops. As a young adult, it meant YARD WORK, which I just happen to love. My mom, who spent most of her young life as a tenant farmer, always said that there was something uplifting about "getting your hands in the soil." Even when we were young, mom tried to "keep" the yard and we would help. I can see her standing on the sidewalk barefoot with the hose in hand, watering the grass in the cool of the evening. I can remember how we would sleep with the windows open and the wind would blow across the wet grass creating a gentle cooling breeze. My grandmother, who didn't even have indoor plumbing for years, always had a beautiful yard and of course a garden. My mom, who had spent many years growing food, planted flowers instead. And then she became interested in trees, so that there would be shade for "future generations." Her words exactly. I mean, I couldn't make that up. And as such, I have always loved working out in the yard. I love being out there with the family, stopping occasionally to sit in the shade and cool off with a glass of tea and then get back to the task at hand. And of course, "yard work" day usually means George is grilling something. As I got older, I, too, started planting flowers and even feeding the birds. It just changes the whole atmosphere of your home to have a pretty yard. And one that you and YOURS have accomplished. Even the "homeliest" house looks prettier with a nice yard, trees, and flowers. And it is so simple. A little water, a little time, and a nice trim once a week. God pretty much does the rest. So, here's to spring..........a beautiful time. A time of rebirth and regeneration. My FAVORITE time of year

What an Idiot

"Let go and let God"....how many times have I heard that? I would say at least one hundred times. And how many times have I told someone that? At least one hundred. And how many times have I ACTUALLY DONE that? Nowhere near one hundred. I am so arrogant that I think I can handle things MOST OF THE TIME. And when I can't THEN I give it to God. I am sure He just shakes His head and thinks, "I love her but isn't she just so tragic?" I have had a trying week. No more than anyone else, I am sure, but when it is happening to you...........well, you don't really care about anyone else. Or at least I don't. And through it all, I did everything BUT really truly give it over 100% to God. I prayed about it, but in my mind, I thought "surely I can fix this." Well, guess what? COULDN'T!!! I am looking at a lot of things in the upcoming months that I am really going to have very little,IF ANY, control over. I am going to have to LET GO and LET GOD and no matter how trite that sounds............it works. Truly, it does. And that doesn't mean that God makes it all better. It means He works it out to HIS perfect will for your life and in the end how can that EVER be wrong? I am relying on Him for many things, but there is a small part of me that is trying to HELP Him get these things done. How appreciative HE must be that I am willing to give of my time and talent to HELP HIM!! Am I an idiot or what? (Rhetorical question which I don't expect you to answer) I had a colleague tell me one time that when I prayed I needed to literally turn my palms up and "let go". I tried it one Sunday and it was a liberating feeling. But it wasn't too long until I was back at my tight fisted life; hanging on to anything and everything that I thought I could do to make life better. What an idiot? (didn't I already say that?) So, on this Friday afternoon, as I think about all the things that cause me worry and stress, I am letting go..........I am..........truly........probably just for today but still.........I am going to place my TRUST in HIM and get out of the way. You know, until I think HE NEEDS MY HELP. What an idiot (and yes this time you may agree!)