Today's Reason to be Glad School's Almost Over

The last day for students is Thursday, so this week is half days and exams! You can tell that school needs to end for lots of reasons. Here's one from this morning.

Me: "You just need to put your name on the Scantron. Don't worry about the subject or the date. If you want to put it, fine, but if you don't know the date, don't worry about it. I just need your name."

Student 1: "What's the date?"

Student 2: "Do you want us to put ELA for the subject?"

Student 3: "Is it May 31st?"

Seriously. Sometimes I wonder why I speak in my classroom.

Summer Reading

To kick off my summer reading for this year, I decided it was time for me to reread Gone With the Wind. I've been reading Pat Conroy's reading memoir My Reading Life, and he devotes an entire chapter to GWTW and what an amazing book it is. This, along with going to see The Conspirator, gave me the nudge I needed to give GWTW, all 1448 pages of it, its second read. I've been wanting to read it again for a while, but the fact that I lost my original copy during one of my 4 moves in the past 3 years was holding me back. I got my first copy at this tiny English bookstore in St. Petersburg and stayed up all night reading it on the night train back to Moscow. I then devoted all my metro rides for a week or so to it. My first copy traveled all over Russia with me, so it had a special place in my heart. I've been in denial that I lost it and have been refusing to get another copy, but Sunday I broke down and got a new one. I started rereading it on Monday (and all my students are freaked out by its massive size...and even more freaked when I tell them this is the second time I'm reading it).

The beginning of this book makes me think that I was perhaps born at the wrong time. I think part of me was meant to live on an antebellum plantation, wearing hoop skirts and sitting on my big front porch while boys came calling. Then, I would have gotten married and just had to sit in a chair and look pretty. I mean, what girl wouldn't kind of want to live in a time characterized by "exaggerated courtesy to women"?

It also makes me want to give any kid I may have in the future some incredibly Southern name like Cade, Raiford, or Wilkes. (I mean, Cade Calvert, I love it.)

And the beginning makes me kind of sad that life's not like that anymore. Then I remember the whole slavery thing and feel like a really bad person.

Anyway, I highly recommend the book. You just have to get past the length, which even I admit is a little intimidating at first. But I promise, it's totally worth it. And don't think you can just watch the movie because they leave out TONS of great stuff, including one particularly charming scene involving Scarlett, Rhett, and a horse-and-buggy.

Psalm 7:17 Friday XVII

"I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High."

-Psalm 7:17

Things I am Thankful for This Week

-A small group where I can be honest without fear of being judged

-Friends who encourage me and pray for me

-PASS testing--which I mostly hate, but which does mean that I had my last block class for only 45 minutes a day this week instead of 90

-Reading The Giver, one of my all-time favorite books, with my students

-My Honors ELA class this year because they make me laugh and show me everyday that all the things I dreamed of when I decided to become a teacher are actually possible

-pintrest.com, which is great for the 5 minutes between classes because I know that when I pull it up there will be something that makes me smile (but every once in a while there is something kind of inappropriate....)

-looking at recipes and knowing I have a friend to cook with this summer

-two-and-a-half weeks until Summer

-Having friendships that are comfortable and broken in, ones where you can hang out by sitting on the couch, drinking wine, and watching tv without really talking all that much

-The sequel to The Red Pyramid, which came out a few weeks ago but I'm just getting around to reading

-Going to my first NASCAR race with on of my best friends (and the fact that we've been best friends since we were in 5th grade)

-Both my sisters being in town last weekend

-My mom!!

Yeah I Am....

Song Lyrics

I like to think that in another life, where I am much cooler than I am now, I would be able to play the guitar and write amazing songs. Sadly, I'm me, and I can't. But, that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a good lyric when I hear one. Probably because I'm a word person, I listen to lyrics a lot more closely than most people I know (which probably explains why I don't listen to many of the songs my students listen to....), and often times I find that they are particularly apt at speaking to certain things going on in my life. This was really true over the past week and a half or so. So, I thought it would be fun if I summed up my recent life in lyrics. (And, I'm also considering making this an assignment for my students sometime....)

"Light up, light up

As if you have a choice

Even if you cannot hear my voice

I'll be right beside you dear."

-"Run" by Snow Patrol

So this song isn't about God at all, but this makes me think about Him anyway. I was feeling a little deserted and alone, but when I listened to this song on the way to visit my sister, it reminded me that even when I feel like He's forgotten about me, God is right with me all the time.

"I never learned to count my blessings,

I choose to dwell in my disasters."

-"Empty" by Ray LaMontagne

Story of my life. And it reminds me that I have a choice--I can focus on the bad things, which is so easy to do, or I can force myself to turn my mind to the good.

"I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith and love and every grace
Might more of His salvation know
And seek more earnestly His face

Twas He who taught me thus to pray
And He I trust has answered prayer
But it has been in such a way
As almost drove me to despair

I hoped that in some favored hour
At once He'd answer my request
And by His love's constraining power
Subdue my sins and give me rest

Instead of this He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart
And let the angry powers of Hell
Assault my soul in every part

Yea more with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Cast out my feelings, laid me low

Lord why is this, I trembling cried
Wilt Thou pursue thy worm to death?
'Tis in this way' The Lord replied
'I answer prayer for grace and faith'

'These inward trials I employ
From self and pride to set thee free
And break thy schemes of earthly joy
That thou mayest seek thy all in me,
That thou mayest seek thy all in me.'"

-"I Asked the Lord" lyrics by John Newton

So we sang this song at church on Sunday, and it was like someone had looked

into my heart and written down exactly how I've been feeling. Particularly the

part about hoping God would grant one of my requests and "subdue" my sin but

He makes my sin more clear instead. It also made me remember how thankful I

should be when God doesn't give me what I want.

Thankful

I obviously missed my Friday post last week. I would like to be able to say I missed it because I was busy doing something super awesome. But the real reason is because I was being silly and throwing myself a rather large pity party. Thankfully, Jesus and I had a nice chat about my life, and now I'm feeling much better. So, in lieu of my late post, here's a nice picture.