An Unexpected Interruption

I had plans to catch up on a lot of things this weekend - including this blog - but an early morning wake-up call on Saturday morning changed everything. At 4am my dad collapsed on the bathroom floor and after a few hours in the emergency room was admitted to the hospital. Growing up, this was not unusual, as my dad has had many heart problems, but there has been a good 12 year span where spending days and nights at the hospital became less commonplace. I wasn't expecting it to be so hard, because it didn't used to be. It was so routine.
Sunday I felt like I had been hit by a truck, and today I'm all over the place. It's a good thing today was a training day, because I don't know how I would have functioned with my students, as much as I love them. I feel more responsible for my dad's health now as an adult; he's currently at the cardiologist, and I wish I was there to ask my questions and ensure the right things are done. But all I can do is pray.

Hair Dye and School Closings

I got a little help today from Mother Nature (or Someone Else) in keeping up with my blog; hooray for no school! Because it is the year of fun, I will have to celebrate in some way beyond catching up on grading and lesson planning. (Although if my students are reading this, I take great pleasure in reading your assignments...;) ) I don't know what that fun will be, but I put forth effort last night to have some semblance of fun on what I thought was a school night. Between committee meetings and bible study, I dyed my hair for the first time ever. Those who knew me in college may beg to differ that this was the first, but the time of electric blue streaks was caused by hair extenstions and not actual dye. I don't know if I will ever do it again, but it was fun once. Trying something new this week: check.

Grand Plans...

I was going to be meticulous about my blogging for my year of fun. Apparently I was having so much fun that I could not find time to blog...
I am reforming, especially as I received an email asking for my URL. That was the motivation I needed to actually start writing something again. (Although I'm sure that all of my students are also reading...ha!) I was feeling the need to catch up on all that has been done so far, but that has only proved to help me in my procrastination. Despite my lag in blogging, I have been slowly working on the list of things I want to do, be, and accomplish. There was a fabulous trip to Minnesota to see friends - the best way to start a year of fun!, movie nights and coffee shop meetings, new volunteering and ministry opportunities, and less time at school. Still a work in progress, but it's a start.

2010 - The Year of Fun

I am embarking on an adventure. At the encouragement of my concerned family, I have decided to make 2010 my "year of fun" - a New Year's resolution of sorts. I had realized at the end of the semester that I was working too much, becoming less of me and more of a joyless workaholic who lost sight of the true meaning of what I do. The plan was formed sometime during Christmas vacation; while I cannot remember the exact timing, I remember the idea coming about because of a conversation with my aunt, cousin, and mother. Sitting in the living room around the Christmas tree, it was decided that I needed to have more fun so that work wouldn't be so hard and so all-consuming. A chance to be me again.
There are several layers to the plan for the Year of Fun, some of which too personal to discuss on a public forum that my students may or may not read. I plan to do things that I love to do but have stopped due to work. I want to try new things and travel. I also want to do a little work on my inner self. (This is where it gets personal; also, due to my faith and the fact that I am a school employee, I'm not sure that I am supposed to talk about it unless specifically asked what I believe, even on a personal blog.) And I plan to record my adventures on this blog - in part so certain people can keep tabs on me to ensure I am actually having fun.
So here's to the Year of Fun. May it live up to its name.

The Proposal

No, I did not recently get engaged. But I did watch Sandra Bullock pretend to do so, and it was interesting to say the least.
Romantic Comedy must be a tough genre for screenwriters; it has to be hard to come up with something new that has never been done before, especially when the audience basically knows how everything is going to come out. Several new titles come out every year, and the previews always make them look so good. They do pretty well at coming up with a new situation, but it still seems to be the same story again and again. Yet we still keep coming back, demanding more.
Finding love and being in a romantic relationship is a story that everyone can relate to or at least somewhat desire. We gravitate towards things and ideas that we can relate to our own stories, so we keep coming back to this idea of finding love that can satisfy us. That could be a discussion in and of itself: how another person can never fully complete you or fill the holes in your life. But going back to The Proposal, I was hoping to enjoy that connection, looking for that same familiar story that I've heard in slightly different ways so many times. Instead, I walked away shaking my head. I found it kind of strange.
Yes, we have a single guy and a single girl. They hate each other, one does the other a favor, there is conflict, and in the end they fall in love and are planning their wedding. But between the awkward waiter/cashier/exotic dancer, the ridiculous immigration officer, and the wacky "Gammy," I lost the connection and felt it was a little much. Maybe it's just not my kind of humor; I didn't think it was one of Sandra's best. While I did enjoy a fun evening with friends, The Proposal made me want to say no.

Fog Delay

The perfect way to celebrate the first day of Fall would have been to have a fog delay. I was so hoping as I woke up and looked outside that my view of the houses across the street would be obliterated by thick, soupy, grayness rather than the clarity that was really there. Normally, I fight for clarity and wish that all fuzziness would be eliminated from my life, but this is where I embrace it. Maybe I should learn to embrace more grayness rather than striving for solely that which is black and white. In the meantime, while I learn to do that, I am still hoping for a fog delay. Maybe the superintendant can work on embracing fogginess, too.

What is Really Necessary?

Looking at my calendar for the next few months, my weekends are already planned. I have events and meetings for most of the days of the week. I am feeling unbalanced and not sure what to do. How does one know what to eliminate? What is really necessary?
All of the busyness is due to "good" things. Work, professional development, church, plans with family and friends...how can you - how can I - say no? I am realizing that something needs to give. I cannot do it all. Because of my personal beliefs, I know I need assistance from a higher Source. This is a blog for school, so I will not go into detail about that, but I think the concept is something that everyone, including my students, have to struggle with. There are only 24 hours in a day. How should they be used? How a person spends his or her time shows the true reality about what is most important in that person's life. Do your - and my - ideals and thoughts match up with reality? If I say my family is most important, does my life reflect that?
I am going to do some personal readjusting. How this will actually look, I can't yet say. I just hope that my life will be a better reflection of what matters most.