I am still here...

I am mentally preparing myself for meeting 90 new students tomorrow. I always get a little nervous, even after 10 years of having the first day of school, my stomach gets butterflies and I always pray that I might be more of a help than a hindrance in these students lives.

We have a lot of pre-school meetings - to learn about new studies and what our test results are. I think that they want to encourage us, but somehow it comes across as failure. How much can I do in 85 minutes a day for 9 weeks (45 days)? Can I really change how they see the world? What difference do I really make? Yet, Christ in me shouts, YES, your life makes a difference because I died for you. I want to glorify Him in this public school that I call work. I want to build relationships with kids that are lonely, to make connections. I want to be that teacher that kids remember made a difference. The funny thing is that I don't know if I am making any impact - they will rarely come back and thank me - oh the life of a teacher. If your kids have not returned to school yet, please remember to pray for them as they get on those buses and enter our hallways. As a teacher, we care about them as much as you do!

In preparation, I have pretty much secluded myself and been reading Harry Potter. I do enjoy the story, but haven't finished it yet. There is so much controversy, but this is what kids are reading and I can see why. The boy has been getting his last hours of play with the neighbor kids and the girl went away for the weekend with a friend with a cabin. It has been very quiet around our house this weekend - just like I like it. I don't know that I would like it all the time, but it has been nice, knowing in less than 24 hours I will be surrounded. The husband is just biding his time - complaining of the annual headache and stomachache before the first day of school. He is also a teacher (5th grade). I have given him a project that requires power tools and that should keep him occupied for the afternoon. We will both be fine after the first bell.

I have also been fighting with so many computer and silly issues that take my time. I volunteered to help with the new scoring system for my daughters swim team. The computer we used last year is broken and the new one is not talking with the scoring system at the pool. I had to enter everything manually - ug! Technology is great when it works. The GREAT thing is that Charity is swimming on Varsity this year as a 9th grader. She is actually not too happy about it since she has to practice longer. She has already beat her time on the 200 IM from last year. I am sooo proud of her.

Anyway, I am rambling on, probably because I haven't blogged for so long. Thanks for reading and have a great start to the school year.