How many of you can remember back to your high school years? How many of you remember them fondly? I loved high school, I changed so much in those four years. The stepping stones of my personality were laid during that time, to be built up and added to by heartache and life experience.

What sometimes amazes me when I work with my students is how they can’t see past the immediacy of the NOW. I try to reason with them and explain this is just a tiny part of their lives.

“Your life expectancy is at least 75 years, probably more. High school is only 4 years of that time. A drop in the bucket.”

“You don’t understand, you’re OLD.”

The scary part is, I completely remember what it was like to feel like the world was ending because I got a bad grade, got dumped, couldn’t get a date, etc. It doesn’t take much for me to remember those heartbreaking emotions swamping me.

Damn, am I glad that shit is OVER! hahahahha

I love working with teenagers. It has taught me a lot about life, probably more than I have taught them. Now, when I get a rejection letter or a bad review or things don’t turn out the way I’d like, I try to see this as just a drop in the bucket in the overall scheme of life. Sure, it hurts right now, but in a few weeks/months/years the pain will fade and I can look back on it as another building block.

I hope.

I don’t know what got into me this weekend, but I cleaned the bejeezus out of my house. Actually, because of all the painting we’ve been doing, the house was pretty clean except for the children’s rooms and the play room.

Those were in at least ten health code violations, if not more.

On Saturday I made the kids rake out everything under their beds, under their dressers, and whatever things had crawled up and died behind their bookshelves. I vacuumed up so much junk from behind one set of bunkbeds I considered getting my husband’s shop vac to do the job.

On Sunday, I ditched the kids with my mom for a few hours so I could THROW OUT much of their playroom. In my car right now I have three bags of toys to go to the Even Start program where I work, and two bags of toys and a bag of clothes to go to Good Will. I threw out at least 5 garbage bags full of junk as well as boxes and God only knows what.

Furniture was moved, toys were organized, lists were made, and the vacuum got another workout. Life is good.

For the first time in a LONG time, I won’t be embarrassed if someone decides to drop by my house unexpectedly. All the toys are in the playroom, all the movies are organized in my newly stained bookshelf (part of Saturday’s project), and the kids’ rooms actually have floor space. I want to take a picture of it because I know it won’t last. . .

Next weekend I’m RELEAXING, even if it kills me, because after that I’m going to start working in the yard. Keeping up with the trimming and the weeding will take me all spring and summer.

But at least I can go outside knowing my housework is done.
Ahhhhhhh