Top 10 Reasons I Love My Best Friend

20 years later, we are still the best of friends...

We aren't perfect.  I'm sure he would like for me to be more adventurous and most likely more glamorous.  He probably wishes I'd chosen a profession that made a bit more money.  I often wonder what it would be like to be put on a pedestal and catered to every moment of the day. 

But that's not how we are.  That's not how we will ever be, and that's ok.  We make it work and we love our simple little life together.
Here are my top reasons why.

10.  Kerry smells so good.  I mean...he REALLY smells good.  When he isn't around, I sleep with his shirts on.  I'm serious.  I'm addicted to his smell.  Plus...he's pretty easy on the eyes, even after 20 years of looking at him.  He kinda gets even prettier each year, if that's possible.

9.  You can tell a lot about a man by the type of flowers they buy for you.  Kerry has never sent anything but absolutely PERFECT flowers...more often than I deserve.

8.  He still makes me laugh...everyday.

7.  He's the world's greatest dad.  There are times when I am a less than perfect parent, and he reminds me of what's important without making me feel like a failure. 

6.  He likes my quirks.  We've been together for so long, he thinks I am the norm and considers other people boring at times.  In fact...even with my quirks, I sometimes even bore him.  I like that about him. 

5.  We've been best friends for so long, I can't imagine life without him.  At 39 years old, over half of our lives have been spent with one another, and it feels as though we've grown up together.  In a way, I guess we have.

4.  I can trust him.   I know that he is one of the VERY FEW people who could actually break my heart, yet I know that he never will.  Anytime that I'm worried about something, I just have to ask Kerry if things will be ok.  He tells me the truth.  Even if things aren't going to be ok, it always helps to know ahead of time, and to know that he will be there for me through the not ok times.

3.  He understands why I am the way that I am...for the most part.  That's a big thing for someone to try to understand.

2.  We are just enough alike that we appreciate one another, yet different enough to fill in any weakness that the other might have...even though he's quite certain that he has no weaknesss.

1.     He knows the absolute darkest, ugliest, worst things about me...things that I find utterly disgusting. And he still comes home each night...and he still loves me.

 

Boring, but it needed to be written down...for me

Today was one of those "teaching" kind of days.  Of course, I always go to school with the intention of teaching.  The lesson plans are prepared, copies made, resources reviewed, games assembled...I'm ready.  However, despite my best intentions and ample preparation, some days, it feels just like I'm just teaching "at" the kids instead of "with" the kids.  It's as though I'm simply going through the motions, and then the day is over, and I realize that the kids were doing the same.

Today was different.  I'm not sure exactly how it was different other than the way that it felt.  Just as I can't pinpoint what happened, I'm certain that the kids will not be able to verbalize the exact skills that they were working on today.  Yet learning was occurring.  They were heading towards deeper thoughts.  I could see it.  I could read it in their readers' response notebooks.  They weren't just skimming the surface.  They were really thinking...on their own...well...mostly on their own.

The focused skill was writing a summary of a story.  BEAT MY HEAD AGAINST THE WALL...WILL THE TORTURE NEVER END???

Strangely, this is extremely difficult for little people to master.  Or at least it is in my classroom.  Either they say too little or rewrite a six page story.  I've heard other educators admit as much during meetings, so I know that I'm not the only one struggling with this skill.  It's kind of one of those things that teachers beat year after year with only minimal growth.

Today, it happened.  Somehow, I walked them through the important ingredients in a summary salad.  We wrote notes over the story and outlined the basic story elements including main character, setting, problem, and solution.  The kids took these notes, the rubric, and a formula of such that we prepared together, and produced a concise yet informative summary over the story that we had just read.  

When they go home tonight, I highly doubt that they will report to their parents that they utilized their knowledge of basic story elements and  plot structure to produce a perfect summary, yet I saw it. I saw it with my own eyes.  Not only did I see it, I could feel it happening as we walked through the steps together.  I knew, throughout the entire journey, that they were going to end up at the exact predetermined destination.

Looking back over my teaching career thus far, I see how weak of a teacher I once was.  I don't believe that I'm a great teacher at this point.  In fact, I wouldn't even state that I am a strong teacher.  However, I'm a growing teacher, and I know this because I can now finally see exact elements of my teaching that have improved over the year.  Not only do I see areas that have improved, but I can feel them improving as I make my way through a lesson. 

Why did I succeed today?  Was it the combination of the concise formula and rubric along with the notes that we prepped prior to writing?  Was it my years of experience?  Was it the countless mistakes that I've made while teaching this same lesson in the past?  Was it because I was absolutely sick of failing? I don't know, and I don't really care.  I DID IT!  I DID IT!  I DID IT! 

Can they do it again?  Uhhh....let's just be thankful for today.

Can I do that again?  Uhhh....let's just be thankful for today.

On my mind

I wouldn't say that I've been irritable lately, but rather, observant...to a fault. Undoubtedly, with my quiet observation comes a not so quiet blog.

Welcome to my (slightly edited) mind during my drive home from work:

"Seriously over that phrase, "Must be nice."  I mean, why don't you just whine, "Poor pitiful me...everyone look at me and feel sorry, because I don't have what you have..."  At least if you're honest, you'll look pathetic with dignity.  Nevermind.  You'll still just be pathetic.     

I can't stand copy and paste status updates on Facebook.  Copy and paste this if you want to get punched in the head.

I think I'm grumpy.  I bet if I made an app that blocked copy and paste status updates, I'd make a million freakin' dollars.

I am baffled by the sheer volume of kids.  Their lungs and mouths are smaller...shouldn't there be less sound coming out of their little bodies as well?

Sometimes I hate "having a feeling" about something, because you never know...it could just be gas.  But what if it's not and I don't act on the knowledge that I "think" I have and then something bad happens?  It's a curse.  I tell you.  It's a curse.

I can tell when other people are as intuitive as I am; And it makes me rather uncomfortable.  Ah, the irony.

I think pedicures make my feet rougher in the long run.  I wonder if I can just rent a massage chair and give the sweet little lady a break?  To be so tiny, her hands sure are tough - that woman is relentless.

I totally think kids should get over their fascination with pencil top erasers already.  They're just erasers.  Stop steeling them and for goodness sake, KEEP THEM OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!

Dude.  Why am I so grumpy?

What would it be like to burn to death...I mean, how long do you feel the agony?  The nerves probably get burned through rather quickly, right?  And WHY did this thought enter my mind?

Man, I sure have had a crummy day.  What am I talking about?  I could be on fire right now, so things aren't really bad at all.  Even worse, I could have been that bug that just smashed into my windshield.  That would suck even more.  Spending your whole short miserable life as a lowly bug only to smack into a windshield and never have had a chance to tell your baby dragonflies goodbye.  Nevermind.  My day was downright dandy.  Time to suck it up already.

And while we are on the topic of sucking it up, I think petty people are just petty.  Let it go. 

Does this new laser type liposuction really work?  Hmmmm....maybe I should check into that.  Are there any Oreos left at home? 

Speaking of Oreos, I think Lita needs her heartworm pill today.  Man, those things smell funny.

I need a new wallet.  I bet that's why I'm so grumpy"