It's an understatement to say that I'm not a big fan of cold weather, or anything cold for that matter. I don't even like ice cubes in my water. So it really isn't suprising that I don't like ice storms. Especially when I'm the one shoveling the ice.
The other day we had one of those rare snow days in which my landlords left for work before the storm finished without touching the driveway. This wouldn't have been horrible if I hadn't needed to go out later to watch Jeremy (who's mom later called me as I was almost to the house to cancel...the best laid plans, right?). Anyway, in order to even get to my car without falling I needed to shovel. And shovel I did....almost the whole driveway in fact. I have to admit, I was kind of proud of myself. After all, last winter I could barely function in this sort of weather, let alone shovel it.
Then I woke up yeterday. With pain from my neck all the way down to my knees. The brunt of the pain was in my hips. An emergency appointment with my chiropractor was scheduled. His diagnosis? My lower back was seriously inflammed. Treatment? Ice...yes, the very thing that caused all the pain to begin with ended up being my treatment. Go figure. I still have a great deal of pain in my neck and shoulders today, but my lower back and hips are doing so much better :)
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
I long for a definition
black and white
concrete
rules that govern
every circumstance.
I feel constricted by these rules though;
confined
suffocated
looking for loopholes
Life seems more grey than black and white;
circumstances and feelings change from day to day.
Walls are meant to keep out,
boundaries enforced to protect
but are these boundaries rigid or malleable?
How much can I let down my guard
without getting hurt
or giving false impressions?
Does changing the lines
result in confusion
or freedom?
I strive for perfection,
a consistency in what I do and say.
Keeping a perfect balance;
endless harmony.
Reality sets in however.
I'm bound to make mistakes,
give wrong impressions,
change the lines
or even cross over them.
Through it all You are with me
though I sometimes strive to hear Your voice.
The path may be faint
but I know it is the one You have for me.
And should I stray
You'll guide me back.
For You know the desires of my heart;
having my best interest in mind.
black and white
concrete
rules that govern
every circumstance.
I feel constricted by these rules though;
confined
suffocated
looking for loopholes
Life seems more grey than black and white;
circumstances and feelings change from day to day.
Walls are meant to keep out,
boundaries enforced to protect
but are these boundaries rigid or malleable?
How much can I let down my guard
without getting hurt
or giving false impressions?
Does changing the lines
result in confusion
or freedom?
I strive for perfection,
a consistency in what I do and say.
Keeping a perfect balance;
endless harmony.
Reality sets in however.
I'm bound to make mistakes,
give wrong impressions,
change the lines
or even cross over them.
Through it all You are with me
though I sometimes strive to hear Your voice.
The path may be faint
but I know it is the one You have for me.
And should I stray
You'll guide me back.
For You know the desires of my heart;
having my best interest in mind.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
A New Year with New Experiences
Happy New Year everyone!
Today is my first official snow day from school, so I thought I'd take some time and write what's been going on in my life. I guess I should start with how I spent the holidays. This year was very different than other years. For one thing, Christmas was on a Saturday. For another we were forecasted to have a blizzard the day after Christmas. My parents and I decided not to spend the break in San Antonio visiting family, however because of the blizzard we also decided not to get together as a family this year. My brother stayed in the DC area and I stayed up here. I spent Christmas Eve rather sick - bad migraine - but I was able to get out for Christmas Eve service at my church and later dinner with friends. I had Christmas dinner at a friend's house and then spent the night at another friend's house watching movies. The blizzard came shortly after church the next day so I spent that day cleaning.
The rest of the week was spent with a friend from upstate NY who stayed with me. I also hung out with some other friends as well as spent some time watching Jeremy. For New Year's Eve I helped a friend host a New Year's Eve party which was alot of fun. I sort of learned how to play Mao (card game with rules that you have to figure out as you go along....I hated it at first, but by the end I enjoyed it) and for my birthday I got to hang out with my friend Cathy who was in the area.
I did see my family New Year's Eve during the afternoon. They came up with presents and then took me out to a restaurant. I got to pick the restaurant and chose Stir Crazy - which meant that my mom got to try a new experience. She did quite well with it. She ordered chicken teriyaki and said it was very good.
I've also been trying some new things. With my birthday money I purchased a curling iron and have been experimenting with it. I've always been afraid of curling irons because I feared burning myself. It is definitely one of those things I went to do AFTER coffee...and yet I still get some interesting hair styles :). It's a work in progress, but I've only slightly burned myself twice, so I consider it somewhat successful. The other new activity I've tried is sledding.
Now I realize that most people have been sledding numerous times, but since I grew up in the city sledding wasn't really a big activity. We did live on a hill, but that ended at a busy street, so it wasn't very conducive to sledding down. I've seen pictures of my dad pulling me on a sled when I was about 3 years old, but that's where the pictures stop. I went snow tubing in college, which resulted in a broken/sprained wrist....so, yeah, I was sort of traumatized by the whole concept on sledding.
The first time I went down I screamed (though apparantly no one heard me). I went down several times after that in order to overcome the fear of flying down a snow covered hill. I was able to stop myself from screaming and at the end the experience became less terrifying, and maybe even fun - though believe me, I'm hardly ready to admit that fact to most people yet.
Today is my first official snow day from school, so I thought I'd take some time and write what's been going on in my life. I guess I should start with how I spent the holidays. This year was very different than other years. For one thing, Christmas was on a Saturday. For another we were forecasted to have a blizzard the day after Christmas. My parents and I decided not to spend the break in San Antonio visiting family, however because of the blizzard we also decided not to get together as a family this year. My brother stayed in the DC area and I stayed up here. I spent Christmas Eve rather sick - bad migraine - but I was able to get out for Christmas Eve service at my church and later dinner with friends. I had Christmas dinner at a friend's house and then spent the night at another friend's house watching movies. The blizzard came shortly after church the next day so I spent that day cleaning.
The rest of the week was spent with a friend from upstate NY who stayed with me. I also hung out with some other friends as well as spent some time watching Jeremy. For New Year's Eve I helped a friend host a New Year's Eve party which was alot of fun. I sort of learned how to play Mao (card game with rules that you have to figure out as you go along....I hated it at first, but by the end I enjoyed it) and for my birthday I got to hang out with my friend Cathy who was in the area.
I did see my family New Year's Eve during the afternoon. They came up with presents and then took me out to a restaurant. I got to pick the restaurant and chose Stir Crazy - which meant that my mom got to try a new experience. She did quite well with it. She ordered chicken teriyaki and said it was very good.
I've also been trying some new things. With my birthday money I purchased a curling iron and have been experimenting with it. I've always been afraid of curling irons because I feared burning myself. It is definitely one of those things I went to do AFTER coffee...and yet I still get some interesting hair styles :). It's a work in progress, but I've only slightly burned myself twice, so I consider it somewhat successful. The other new activity I've tried is sledding.
Now I realize that most people have been sledding numerous times, but since I grew up in the city sledding wasn't really a big activity. We did live on a hill, but that ended at a busy street, so it wasn't very conducive to sledding down. I've seen pictures of my dad pulling me on a sled when I was about 3 years old, but that's where the pictures stop. I went snow tubing in college, which resulted in a broken/sprained wrist....so, yeah, I was sort of traumatized by the whole concept on sledding.
The first time I went down I screamed (though apparantly no one heard me). I went down several times after that in order to overcome the fear of flying down a snow covered hill. I was able to stop myself from screaming and at the end the experience became less terrifying, and maybe even fun - though believe me, I'm hardly ready to admit that fact to most people yet.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Classroom Praise Report
It's been so long since I've written. Life seems to have taken on a whirlwind speed and I haven't quite figured out how to balance my writing in this mix. Today is an exception because I have finally found a library in Highland Mills near Jeremy's social group in which I can sit in the heat and have internet access...a wonderful praise because the internet has not been a part of my life lately.
Anyway....I wanted to share some encouraging bits about the students in my class.
1) All of the kindergarten and most of 1st grade students are writing their numbers on their calendars (a huge accomplishment in their fine motor development).
2) Jack can now write the letter "J" mostly on his own. He is also biting and scratching less....which I really appreciate :).
3) Rodney is being mainstreamed into a 1st/2nd grade classroom during the mornings and Emmanuel has started being mainstreamed into a 1st grade class during the afternoons.
4) Jayden can write his name independently and can read 3 sight words.
5) Kevin is gaining confidence when speaking.
6) Aiden isn't whining everyday.
7) Max isn't talking quite as much or as impulsively as he used to.
8) Christopher remembers my name.
Anyway....I wanted to share some encouraging bits about the students in my class.
1) All of the kindergarten and most of 1st grade students are writing their numbers on their calendars (a huge accomplishment in their fine motor development).
2) Jack can now write the letter "J" mostly on his own. He is also biting and scratching less....which I really appreciate :).
3) Rodney is being mainstreamed into a 1st/2nd grade classroom during the mornings and Emmanuel has started being mainstreamed into a 1st grade class during the afternoons.
4) Jayden can write his name independently and can read 3 sight words.
5) Kevin is gaining confidence when speaking.
6) Aiden isn't whining everyday.
7) Max isn't talking quite as much or as impulsively as he used to.
8) Christopher remembers my name.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Forced to Slow Down
Many days I run myself ragged. I start my day early in the morning - going from one job to another and then maybe doing errands afterwards. The days are long and fly by quickly. Sometimes I can catch my breath on the weekends. This weekend was different, however. I decided to drive up to Maine to visit with friends. This wasn't a bad idea as I desperately needed a change in scenary and some relaxation. It came with the cost of waking up at 6:30 on a Saturday morning...driving 4 1/2 hrs....playing and trick-or-treating with three children under the age of 6 and getting to bed @11pm. Followed of course by an 8am wake-up call (complete with children whispering next to me to see if I was awake or not) and another full day was in swing....with another 4 1/2 hr drive on the agenda. I was exhausted.
This running non-stop was also done with multiple to-do list items to think about. Things like finances, relationships, paperwork that needs to be filled out, and car repairs that suddenly came up, not to mention home repairs and cleaning, laundry, and grocery shopping are some of the things on my mind. Quite frankly I wonder when I get the time to do any of these things.
Today I stopped....not because I wanted to, but because I was forced to with a migraine. I had gone 23 days without one. Today would have made 24. I actually sent a text to Jeremy's mom telling her I had a migraine. Normally I just deal with the migraine and don't bother telling Jeremy's mom I have one because not working means losing hours and losing income. Since it was a holiday she had people to watch Jeremy and told me to take the afternoon off. I spent it getting a few errands out of the way, making dinner and sitting down to eat it while watching tv. It's been a long time since I've been able to do that and it felt really good.
Now I'm off to growth group.....but it felt nice to be able to catch my breath for once.
This running non-stop was also done with multiple to-do list items to think about. Things like finances, relationships, paperwork that needs to be filled out, and car repairs that suddenly came up, not to mention home repairs and cleaning, laundry, and grocery shopping are some of the things on my mind. Quite frankly I wonder when I get the time to do any of these things.
Today I stopped....not because I wanted to, but because I was forced to with a migraine. I had gone 23 days without one. Today would have made 24. I actually sent a text to Jeremy's mom telling her I had a migraine. Normally I just deal with the migraine and don't bother telling Jeremy's mom I have one because not working means losing hours and losing income. Since it was a holiday she had people to watch Jeremy and told me to take the afternoon off. I spent it getting a few errands out of the way, making dinner and sitting down to eat it while watching tv. It's been a long time since I've been able to do that and it felt really good.
Now I'm off to growth group.....but it felt nice to be able to catch my breath for once.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
A Year Ago
I can't believe it's almost the end of October and what a difference a year has made! I was reflecting on what my life was like last October compared to this year and my world is radically different.
Last October I spent most of the month confined to my bed or couch. I dealt with asthmatic bronchitis turned pneumonia and swine flu....both of which were accompanied by numerous migraines. I was trying to juggle working as a TA for the Clarkstown district as well as tutoring at Huntington and I was in the process of applying for working with Jeremy.
This year I haven't been sick at all! I've had one migraine requiring imitrex and one headache that was annoying but didn't require medicine. I'm working for the Nyack district now and am secure with my job working with Jeremy. By the way....Jeremy has made incredible progress since last year. He is transitioning so well these days and things that used to cause complete meltdowns are much less of an issue. Hopefully this will continue.
Last October I spent most of the month confined to my bed or couch. I dealt with asthmatic bronchitis turned pneumonia and swine flu....both of which were accompanied by numerous migraines. I was trying to juggle working as a TA for the Clarkstown district as well as tutoring at Huntington and I was in the process of applying for working with Jeremy.
This year I haven't been sick at all! I've had one migraine requiring imitrex and one headache that was annoying but didn't require medicine. I'm working for the Nyack district now and am secure with my job working with Jeremy. By the way....Jeremy has made incredible progress since last year. He is transitioning so well these days and things that used to cause complete meltdowns are much less of an issue. Hopefully this will continue.
Friday, October 22, 2010
A Typical Day
In case you wonder what a typical day in my life is like, here are some highlights:
Being greeted in the morning by Max getting off the bus with his hands in the air and saying in his loudest voice possible "I AM A COMPUTER! ALL SYSTEMS A-OK!".
Rodney sleepwalking off the bus (how this is possible with Max still astounds me).
Emmanuel telling me no less than 20 times over the course of the day "Christopher's copying me!!!" This is especially intriguing during morning work time when they are each writing their own name....how this is copying I still don't understand.
Christopher asking me 5 times in 10 minutes "Uh, what's your name again?".
Disciplining Tyler and having him throw an all out screaming tantrum while becoming a cling-on and having to pry him off of me.
Watching to make sure Jack doesn't bite, scratch, or choke me.
Feeding small bites of a sandwich to Aiden who otherwise would put the whole thing in his mouth while crying because it's clean up time. I either have the choice to watch him choke to death or have him spit out the sandwich into a napkin. In case you actually are wondering, I've chosen the second option in the past :).
Small glimpses of children who are slowly gaining comprehension and social skills.
Focusing Tyler, who is my sweet space cadet. One day I want to take a trip to the planet he lives on.
Watching Ben smile. He can't remember anything he did after he left school the day before, but he has the BEST smile.
Getting hugs from Connor. He gives the best hugs ever and has the sweetest eyes.
All this and so much more happen between the hours of 9am and 3:15pm. Today the teacher was at a meeting during the morning so we had a sub. Before she left she came over to me and said "You must be exhausted at the end of your day." Well, I sometimes wish 3:15 was the end of my day, but it's just the middle. I rarely have any trouble sleeping though!
Being greeted in the morning by Max getting off the bus with his hands in the air and saying in his loudest voice possible "I AM A COMPUTER! ALL SYSTEMS A-OK!".
Rodney sleepwalking off the bus (how this is possible with Max still astounds me).
Emmanuel telling me no less than 20 times over the course of the day "Christopher's copying me!!!" This is especially intriguing during morning work time when they are each writing their own name....how this is copying I still don't understand.
Christopher asking me 5 times in 10 minutes "Uh, what's your name again?".
Disciplining Tyler and having him throw an all out screaming tantrum while becoming a cling-on and having to pry him off of me.
Watching to make sure Jack doesn't bite, scratch, or choke me.
Feeding small bites of a sandwich to Aiden who otherwise would put the whole thing in his mouth while crying because it's clean up time. I either have the choice to watch him choke to death or have him spit out the sandwich into a napkin. In case you actually are wondering, I've chosen the second option in the past :).
Small glimpses of children who are slowly gaining comprehension and social skills.
Focusing Tyler, who is my sweet space cadet. One day I want to take a trip to the planet he lives on.
Watching Ben smile. He can't remember anything he did after he left school the day before, but he has the BEST smile.
Getting hugs from Connor. He gives the best hugs ever and has the sweetest eyes.
All this and so much more happen between the hours of 9am and 3:15pm. Today the teacher was at a meeting during the morning so we had a sub. Before she left she came over to me and said "You must be exhausted at the end of your day." Well, I sometimes wish 3:15 was the end of my day, but it's just the middle. I rarely have any trouble sleeping though!
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