Winter Yuck! The Adventures of the Ice/Snow Storm in KY.

I detest winter!! This week has only solidified my thoughts of loathing the cold. I never dreamed that I would one day wake up hoping to not see my school on the bottom of the screen saying that school was cancelled for the day. Well the day has come. I am attempting to do my National Boards which is a complicated enough process without snow days involved. I have nothing to write about when I can't teach. I worry about my students...many of them are on free lunch so they don't get many warm meals at home. Are they staying warm? Do they have power? I pray that their families are taking care of them by at least going to the shelters. I understand now why people have seasonal depression. The world seems so gray on snowy days and dull. I have tried to continue being a good neighbor through it all. We lost power early Wednesday morning. Since we didn't have anything better to do Stad and I scraped the snow and ice off the driveway and our neighbors across the street came and helped us out. We haven't been very neighborly since we moved in (mainly because I am an introverted homebody), so I finally got to talk to many of our neighbors. Later we braved the roads (man they were scary) and went to the store. I always laugh when I see the people on TV with a loaf of bread and milk, but now I understand why. Sandwiches are the only thing to eat (besides junk) when there is not power to heat even soup. Later that day we were feeling like we needed to pay the good deed of driveway scraping forward so we went and shoveled the driveway of a coworker of Stad's who was home alone with a 7 year old and no power as well. My shoulders still hurt two days later, but I really feel like we did a good thing that day. The power did come back on late Wednesday night after a game of rummy, another cold sandwhich, and a great night of conversation with my husband. It amazes me how a few months from now it will be 55 degrees outside and I will be wearing pants and a light jacket, but in the 55 degree house we were in three layers of clothes, four layers of blankets, and hats yet we were still cold. Once again it was snowing this morning and the crazy weatherman is now saying more snow on Monday. I stuck inside while Stad is at work. I guess I could have gone with him, but there is not much to do around his office either so I chose to sit in my sweats and stay warm on the couch. I hope everyone is staying warm, especially those still without power. For now I will continue to type on my National Boards and hope for the best in the next few days.

A little bit of perspective...

So I was having a hard time with my faith in good last week in dealing with the amount of stress that gets piled onto my parents every year around this time. My parents have poured their blood, sweat, and tears into the Domain since 1992. It is not just a job, but a mission that they have. They get their inner strength from the many people who visit and show their love for the place that my parents care so much about. There are some major changes coming down from the Diocesan level and it is all very frustrating.
Now all of this frustration was eating me up inside until I got an email from my dear friend Summer who put my stress into perspective. You see Summer's Mam maw (a feisty lady with a big heart) has battled breast cancer and lymphoma for the last few years. They thought all was well until they got a not so good report this past weekend. I hate seeing such a wonderful family going through such a rough and trying time. I hope nothing but the best for them and will continue praying for good health. Suddenly the heartburn of budgets and lost faith in the church do not hold a candle to the tears and pain I know that Summer and her family have and will continue to go through. I know all to well what Lymphoma does to the family as that is how I lost my Nana and still to this day I have memories of the pain she went through with treatments. God knows what he is doing and I pray that Summer and her family will find peace in the love they have for one another. Keep fighting Mam maw!

So on an ending note, just when things seem like they are at their worst God always seems to put life in perspective. I thank God that my parents have jobs (stress and all), for the roof over my head, and the health of my family. I may not be in the pews on Sunday, but I continue to hold tight to my faith to what is good and right in the world and remember his blessings.
Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with your heart and lean not on your own understandings. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He set your paths straight."

WICKED

One of Stad's favorite movies is the Wizard of Oz so when I heard "Wicked" was coming to town I decided to surprise him with tickets. After hearing about the tickets, Stad bought the book on one of his trips and began reading it so that we would know a little about the story. I finished reading it over the break and I was super excited. The book was OK, but not one of my favorites. However, I loved the thought behind it so I was interested to see how they play would turn out. I was not let down when we went to the show last night. The music was awesome, the play was even better than the book, and the acting was amazing. I really enjoyed it all. If anyone has the opportunity to go see the play, you should.

Breaks are never long enough...

So life for me started again on Monday. Why is it that a 2 week break always seem to be about 2 days? I spent the majority of my break spending some time with family and working on my National Boards. (In fact I am ashamed to say that I spent 3 full days at school over the holidays!) Now don't get me wrong, I was excited to see my kids on Monday because I know that I am one of the positive role models in their lives, but that dreadful buzz of the alarm clock was excrutiatingly painful all week. I am just glad this first week is almost over and tomorrow is Friday...that means there are only 6 more days until the next long weekend. :)

National Boards Countdown: 81 Days! (May the force be with me!)