One for the books.

Let me preface this post by saying it may be a bit tainted by my sheer exhaustion. Here's the last three weeks:

• Working 12 - 15 hours a day doing home visits three or four nights a week


• Coaching 4-6th grade boys at the Youth Soccer League at school


• Going home every other weekend to see Uncle John who is now in a nursing home with cancer

Needless to say, I'm a little tired and a bit overwhelmed, but today was one for the books.

The morning begins with me not even wanting to get out of bed (for the first time since school started), and reluctantly coming in to work. At 7:43 I receive a call from the office stating that there is a parent in the office waiting for me. May I also add that this parent and I have had innumerable conversations and contacts about her daughter who, at the time being, is not making the most intelligent of decisions. These contacts have not all been favorable, and she is convinced my teaching partner and I are picking on her daughter.

She wanted to discuss an incident that happened on Friday, so I indulge her. The conversation quickly turned to attacking my teaching partner and I (again), which simply pushed me over the edge. I had had enough. I said to her all of those things I've wanted to say to her, including, but not limited to:

• I only believe about half of what my students tell me about their parents, perhaps you should reconsider what you're believing from your daughter


• I have 60 students under my care for 8 hours a day, if you think that I have the time and energy to pick on your daughter, you are absolutely wrong.


• If your daughter was making all the right decisions and there were no behavior issues in the classroom at all, we would not be standing here having this conversation.


• I understand that I teach urban students, that is exactly what I have been teaching since I started and exactly why I took this position in the first place.

Many of these were in direct response to things she said to me, including "I simply want the stigma that's on my daughter to be gone," "If you can't handle teaching 8th graders, perhaps you need to have a conversation with the director and try another area," "My daughter was coerced into writing her testimony through the threat of suspension and singling her out from the other students," etc, etc, etc. Needless to say, the conversation did not end well and I am seriously beginning to doubt whether or not I should have opened my mouth at all. After last year, I am so nervous about standing up for myself to a parent, however, I was simply through allowing her to walk all over me.

And yet, I am always shocked at how quickly the tides can turn. After school I visited a student's home who is severely special ed, and I have had a difficult time being patient with him over the course of the past few months. To be honest, I am not sure why this particular child has been so trying, I'm usually very good with my lower students. Yet this student . . .

I was a bit nervous about going to his house, as I did not think his mother spoke any English. Much to my surprise, it was actually pretty good. We started discussing this student and within 10 minutes she was in tears about how concerned she was regarding next year. She's a single mother, trying to raise three children and she really doesn't know how her oldest will make it through high school. I assured her that I understood, as I myself has a brother who is as low as her son is. Breaking into tears again, she began to thank me endlessly for helping her with her son and for really caring about him, as most schools just pushed him (and her) aside. Talk about guilt. I'm frustrated because he cannot focus for more than 30 seconds at a time, and she's ecstatic that someone actually cares. Confirmation #1 that I needed today.

Confirmation #2 came at my next home visit. I drive almost 3 miles and pull up to a very dark house, where an older woman answers the door. I am not even sure that I'm in the right place. She brings me inside and sits me down on the couch, all the while jabbering on in Spanish. Once she realizes that I cannot speak spanish she starts to slow down a bit and we have a very broken conversation, all the while I am desperately hoping that this is my student's house. After a few minutes, my student and his mom come tromping up the stairs - boy was I glad to see them! We have a wonderful conversation (the mother speakigng as much English as she can) and I ask them questions about his trophies, medals and soccer teams. About 30 minutes in, mom asks if I would like some arroz con leche (rice with milk), and before I know it I have a steaming mug of milk in front of me. Absolutely. Delicious. Too soon it is time to go and I stand to say my good-byes. The mother disappears and comes back with an entire cheesecake she has bought for me. Her son translates for her as she tells me how grateful she is that I have come to see them and are interested in her family. She is so thankful that I care for her son and have taken the time with him. Then she welcomes me back to their house at any time, to spend some time with their family. I fight the tears from my eyes. It was exactly what I needed.

I find that so often I get caught up in the negativity, and forget to look for the good things that happen. The stupid mothers will always be there and they will always have something to grumble about, but it's the ones who are grateful and happy that I should be focusing on.

What a Grand Grand Opening

This week has been one for the books.


Upon returning to work Monday morning I started feeling a bit congested and sneezy. By Tuesday, it was a full-blown, first-of-the-season cold. Ugh. I have not gotten sick in quite a while, and now I get a stomach flu virus and a cold within two weeks of each other. Needless to say, I could not take any time off yet (sub plans are NOT in the stars this early), so I toughed it out (miserably, I might add).

The whole week, the school is in chaos as we are preparing for the Grand Opening celebration on Thursday night. No one knows exactly what's going on, as the network has taken over the preparations, but we know it's going to be HUGE. By Wednesday afternoon, there are people running through the hallways laying enormous electrical cords, covering emergency lights and setting up other sorts of lighting. On Thursday, our wonderful director calls me into his office to ask if I would be willing to speak to the news cameras if they ask. Whoa. So much for keeping under the radar this year. Mind you, I still have a horrible head cold - which I jokingly bring up. In the end, I concede and walk away wondering how this is all going to shake down.

The evening rolls around and it is downright chilly. Eric comes down around 5:00 in hopes of missing traffic, and we go get a quick dinner. The program doesn't start until 7:00, so we just hang out in the general area until the big wigs start showing up. Mayor Rahm Ehmanuel. Governor Pat Quinn. Numerous Senators and Representatives. Aldermans from a 1/2 dozen districts. I was "assigned" to the 8th grade girl saying the pledge of allegience to help calm her nerves and help her practice. Consequently, I was right in the middle of all this madness. It was pretty damn cool. I stayed behind stage with her and talked to every big wig that came by and offered her a "good luck - you'll do fine."

FINALLY, at 7:30 the show starts. The Director is more animated and inspiring than I've ever seen him, followed by the boy scouts raising the flag and Alejandra saying the pledge. The music teacher's professional Mariachi band begins to play the national anthem as a crystal clear tenor voice flows over the crowd. The crowd is silent, facing the flag with every single hand covering their hearts. When the music ends, the crowd explodes into applause and the Director steps down. The next hour consists of big wigs talking, saying thank you to other big wigs and finally leading up to the Governor's speech. By this point, it's so cold and has been so long that I don't remember what is said.

Mr. CEO takes the mic back and begins to explain how when UNO celebrates something they do it in a BIG way (boy, he's not kidding). He asks the crowd to turn toward the building and the lights go down. What follows next is the most impressive grand opening for a school I have ever seen. Smoke, light show, confetti streamers shoooting out into the crowd. Then finally, lights on the roof, followed by another round of smoke, and a pretty impressive fireworks display, all done to heart-thumping house music. The crowd went crazy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO2b0jpIRec

After all is said and done, we all go to our classrooms and they open up the school to the 500+ people that are still there. Inside, all our rooms are immaculate, and they have a videor looped in every classroom of the 100 parents that petitioned the capital for 6 weeks in order to get the money used to build this school. Finally, at 10:00 we are so exhausted that we call it a night and head to our homes. What a grand, Grand opening.

http://www.wbez.org/story/shiny-charter-school-southwest-side-92058

http://dimitrephotography.smugmug.com/EventsUNO/UNO-Soccer-School-Opening/19053842_4gTm2C#1481821995_kbq7dnx

Good and bad. But mostly good.

This week has been one of the most exhausting weeks I have had in recent memory. To the nature of starting a barnd new school, we have all been working non-stop from 7:30 - 3:30 with about a 5 minute lunch and only 1 prep the entire week. I was so physically drained yesterday, that I passed out on my bed, fully-clothed as soon as I walked in the door. The balls of my feet have been swollen for two days, making walking quite difficult. Trying to solely entertain 8th graders for 8 hours a day is absolutely exhausting.

However, despite all of these thins, I cannot believe the difference in the school, the staff, the attitudes and the administration. My director has been in my room three times this week already. Twice, he took time to talk to the kids and get to know them a bit. He established expectations in regards to dress code and instantly picked out my "problem boys," making sure that they know who he is. All of our teachers are on the same page in regards to uniform, discipline and behavior in the hallway. My teaching partner is struggling, but looking for help and actually using the advice given.

As exhausted as I am, I cannot even begin to express what a difference this school is. It's everything we wanted the Don to be, but for some reason just could not pull it off. Is it the red tape? The public school system? The government? Administration? Teachers? I am beginning to think it cannot be nailed down to one single thing. So many things have gone awry in our public school system, and all we continue is put a bandaid on a pulsing artery. Where do we begin to fix the heart of the problem? Does the state make the changes, or the national government? Is deregulation the answer? It seems to be working for this charter network.

Encouraged.

Today was the first day. The first day of school in a new city, a new school, with new colleagues and new kids. Surprisingly, it went very well. I must admit, however, I have not been that harried before a first day of school since my first day of teaching. Ever. No copies made until first hour prep, due to the lack of a copy machine this past week and over the weekend. Coffee spilled all over my brand new pants suit, and leaving quite a bit of stuff in my car due to lack of time to carry it to my room before having to be at duty THIRTY minutes before anticipated. Yet despite all of the setbacks, I would say things were successful and I am feeling very much encouraged. Completely and utterly exhausted, but encouraged.

I only have two classes, to whom I am teaching both reading and writing to. This being my fifth year, I am really trying to steer my instruction in a different direction. I am trying to delve deeper into both areas than I have in the past. Of course this means more work for me, but to be honest, I'm feeling inspired enough lately, that I don't mind this extra work. I want to be the best version of myself over the next 10 months. I don't want to look back at myself in June and not even recognize the person I have become.

For the first time in a long time, I feel that I can fully support the vision of this network and understand the goals they have set up in order to be successful. I feel as if they are doing things the RIGHT way. It's nice to work in a place that makes me feel this way. Who knows what next month will hold, but right now I am proud to be a part of this school and network.

Knitting. Knitting. Knitting.

So, I have a confession to make. I have started knitting. Now my hobbies match my "old name" and my "old soul." I must be honest though, I absolutely and completely love it. It gives me something to keep my hands busy and my mind occupied, while doing something productive (as opposed to surfing the internet for hours on end). As long as I'm confessing, I might as well fess-up to how MUCH I have been knitting. In the past three weeks I have completed three dish cloths, a burp cloth, a dish towel, almost an entire scarf and am now starting on my second scarf. Just an fyi to all those non-knitters out there - this is an abundance of items completed for a beginner (which, in turn, means I have an OVER-ABUNDANCE of time on my hands). All of these items are Christmas presents, and it feels incredibly good to be able to finish them early (for once, this procrastinator is not procrastinating!!).

I actually have even joined a knitting club, and no, it's not what you would imagine. To be honest, it has saved me from severe lonely-itis over the last month. There are some older women in the club, but mostly it's "relatively" young professional women who enjoy the hobby. I have met some pretty interesting people and am really looking forward to getting to know them better. It will be nice to know people outside of school. I made that mistake when I moved to Phoenix - only having friends from work - and it bit me in the ass. I swore upon moving here that I would not make that mistake again. I have a feeling that given some time, I will make some good friends from the women in this group. One other personal advantage to this group is that if I don't know how to do something, I just bring it to the group and ASK someone. Everyone is more than willing to offer assistance!

92 degrees . . . in Chicago?

So today is about the 10th day that it has been over 90 degrees. I feel as if I'm being suffocated. Ugh. I thought I moved to Chicago to get AWAY from this? I'm not supposed to be hotter here than in Phoenix - something is just innately wrong. I CANNOT wait for fall . . . for more than one reason.

I'm starting to get bored. Desperately bored. I've explored the city, I've read, I've knitted, I've practiced and now I'm done. Done with being alone the ENTIRE day and done with having absolutely nothing to do. I know, I know, I shouldn't complain, but seriously. Forster's were not made to sit and do nothing for days and days on end; it's not in our DNA. I think the hardest part is that there's so many cool things to do, but I have no one to do them with! It's okay to do things alone the first month, but after about 30 days, it gets kind of old.

The girls are starting school today in Phoenix. Do I miss being there with them? No. I miss their friendships. There's not one single part of me that misses Phoenix or the school. The kids? Yes. My friends? Hell yes. But I know that this was the right move, and even though I am lonely now, it will all fade once school starts again.

Next week is my grandmother's 102nd birthday. Her, Aunt Ann and Aunt Sally are all up north right now (and have been since June). I'm going to go up to the cottage next week so that I can be around for her birthday - it may be the last one that we get to celebrate. We've been saying that for 10 years now, but really, how much longer will we be able to continue that phrase? She's 102 for goodness sake. I think about what her life must have been like, raising all those children, and I marvel at what an amazing woman she is. Honestly, she has constitution like you just don't see anymore. Here I am complaining about how boring things are, and when she was my age, she had 8 children already. I cannot even fathom having 8 children, let alone 10. Incredible.

Alright, time to get dressed and practice. It's too bloody hot and steamy to go outside . . . perhaps I'll finish another wash cloth today.

Sarks in the Park

The best breakfast in town (so far). I have been desperately searching things to keep my days occupied, and this morning I decided to go to breakfast at Sarks in the Park on Clark St (that's a lot of "ark" sounds!). It was absolutely delicious. It sits on the garden level of a condo building on the corner of Clark and Fullerton, next to a Chinese restaurant. It is a quaint little store front, somewhat reminiscent of the coney islands in Michigan, and when I arrived at 9:45 there were 3 - 4 couples eating. I ordered the french toast and a cup of coffee. The toast was brioche (or something like it), but it had a bit too much cinnamon on it for me. However, it was still quite delicious. The rest of the customers had egg dishes and those looked amazing as well. I'm still not used to prices for breakfast yet, but it was pretty standardly priced ($7-$9 a plate). I will definitely be visiting again!

After breakfast, I walked down to Best Buy to get printer paper, and wandered back through the neighborhood. It was a lovely walk, although the humidity was in the high 80's. Drippy. When I arrived home, I watched tv for a while, but soon became lonely again. This time, I decided to walk the mile up to Trader Joe's and get some Three Buck Chuck (I actually really like their Pinot Grigio). It was a good walk and much needed. It's better if I'm "out and about" in the city, than sitting at home.

I've started making daily agendas to keep from getting bored and melancholy. It's working pretty well, actually! I use my small white board above my desk, write down what I want to get done and then have the pleasure of crossing it out when I'm finished! I know this won't last forever, but I still have another week before life gets busy again. I'm enjoying the time I have, even though I miss my girls.

Aimless Wanderings

So having a three month summer vacation is amazing, don't get me wrong, but it definitely comes with it's limitations. I have been searching for things to fill my time which I can do on a budget. This has been more challenging than one would think, as it definitely lends itself to self-pity and laziness. Consequently, each morning I wake up and create an "agenda" in my head for the day: knitting, practicing, writing, picture taking and walking are usually on the docet.

On Tuesday, I got up pretty late because I haven't been sleeping well (horrible nightmares about muggings and vampires), and I was feeling sorry for myself. I don't miss Phoenix AT ALL, however, I do miss Jenn and Caitlyn very much. Not to mention Carla lives in Detroit - needless to say I was feeling lonely. Instead of sulking, I decided to take my camera and head down to the water. It doesn't matter what kind of mood I'm in, the water can always cheer me up and put things into perspective. I grabbed my ipod, camera, backpack and a bottle of water and strolled down Fullerton.

It was a perfect day. The wind had picked up with the sailboats taking full advantage - there were no less than a dozen boats within my line of sight. The waves were big enough to encourage people to go play, while others lay just basking in the sun. I took my time and walked all the way down Lakeshore Trail to the North Avenue bridge, then crossed over Lakeshore Drive to head back through the park. On my way back, I walked through the park, practicing my photography (which needs LOTS of practice, by the way) and noticed that some of the animals were out when I walked past the zoo. To my surprise, they were ALL out - the camels, the alpacas, the zebras, the chimps and the gorillas. It was perfect, because the last time we were there right before closing and we didn't get to see anything.

Right in front of the Nature Conservatory in Lincoln Park, there is an absolutely enormous garden with a beautiful fountain in it. I've been wanting to get back over there and photograph some of the flowers, but Tuesday was the first chance I had to do that. Once I arrived in the garden, I was quite startled by the intricacies of the flower bed designs. There were quite a few flowers that were used, which I had never seen before. I felt like such a tourist, but I wandered aimlessly around the garden for about a 1/2 hour before heading back. By this time, I was a hot, sweaty mess and desperately needed a shower. I love days like this, as it makes me realize that even though things are difficult right now and I may feel alone, things will change. I know, in my heart, that I made the right decision and this is where I am supposed to be. I absolutely love this city. I will make new friends and meet people, it's just going to take time. Until then I will keep moving, keep working on my hobbies and keep a little perspective.

Welcome to Chitown.

I have been in Chicago for 2 months and have loved every single second. I cannot even begin to describe how incredible it is to be back in the midwest, surrounded by water, trees and a functioning society! This past week has been excruciatingly hot and humid, so I have not done as much "out and about" as I had hoped, but this too shall pass.

Last Thursday was Eric's birthday (and yes, I finally remembered), and I bought him tickets to see Bela Fleck at the Vic Theater on Sheffield. We went out to DMK Burger first (which had incredible burgers and "exotic" fries), and then we met up with our friend Franscisco and someone from his work to go to the show. There are no words to describe this show. Perhaps it wasn't even that great, but it has been SO long since I have heard any live music that I felt as if I was recovering a piece of my soul. Bela has a harmonica/piano player on his new album named Howard Levy. This man definitely stole the show - he outshone every single person on that stage.

I have missed this more than words can say. The food, the music, the culture - so many times Eric and I have been walking down the street and we just look at each other and someone says, "We live in Chicago now." No other words needed. It's like a dream come true.

To add to my dream come true, on Friday we went with Catie and Russ to a jazz club in Uptown called the Green Mill. Apparently this club is one of the oldest jazz clubs in the city and was even a speakeasy at one point. It was amazing, as you walk in the door the bouncer tells you to keep your voices down and be respectful of the music being played. They take this very seriously! Toward the back of the room there was a group of women that were drunk, loud and out of control - after a while, they asked them to leave (to everyone's relief). The leader of the band waits until the audience gets quiet between songs, before announcing the next tune. Not only that, the band was incredible. They were all in their 60's, except for the trumpet player. You know that they have been around the block and seen some amazing things. I think I have found my new favorite place.

It's about time.

So, I'm leaving Arizona. For good. Forever. Good Riddance.

I sold the condo this month and close on April 12th and then move to Chicago on June 5th. I am so excited that I can't stand being here any longer, and yet I am so terrified that I'm trying not to be paralyzed by it. I have put in applications to 6 different districts and have not gotten a single call or e-mail and am leaving in less than two months. I. have. no. job. This scares me. I really truly feel like this is the right move, so I'm just going to have to trust that all my hard work will pay off and I will be able to find something quickly this summer once I get there.  Needless to say I have checked out, something I told myself I would never do.

That's where Joanna comes in.

She is my angel who started student teaching in January and now has complete control of my class. I seriously don't think I would have made it through this semester without her. She has been an angel. I have spent the last two weeks packing up my room, lesson planning for after AIMS and filling out applications. Is this what it's like to have a 9 - 5 job? I guess karma does exist . . . .