Far Too Long

I am saddened by how long it has been since I have posted to my blog. It isn't because I didn't want to. I have been so incredibly busy and had so many changes in my life since my last entry that I don't even know where to begin!

Let's start with the job. At the end of the last school year, I was feeling the need for a change. I had been at North Middle School for 11 years and just didn't feel like I was making much of a difference any more. That is just not a good feeling. After just a couple of prayers for guidance, lo and behold, I found a new home at TIE (Technology and Innovation in Education.) I cannot imagine a better fit for me! I get to work with teachers and school districts around the state. We help them integrate technology and think about 21st century skills. I even get to go to Wyoming and work with an incredible district that has gone 1:1 in grades 7 - 12.

I work with some of the most amazing educators at TIE. It is a positive, forward-thinking organization that has allowed me the opportunity to think about education as a whole and what we need to be doing to be agents of change. I have been incredibly busy, but for the most part, I thrive when that is the case.

We just finished the 25th Annual TIE Conference. I have attended for years and have presented at it the last several. It is a whole different thing being on this side of the conference. I figured they were a lot of work, but I truly had no idea! That being said, I still loved every minute! The keynote speakers were wonderful. The participants were awesome! The conversation was thought provoking! What more could you ask for?

On a personal note - we are pretty much empty-nesters. Chris is in Kansas doing his thing at Spirit Aerosystems. Tony is currently at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri recovering from shoulder surgery and hopes to finish his National Guard training soon. Jamie is a junior at USD in Vermillion. The boys are doing great, but as a mom, I really miss them. Mike and I are both incredibly busy, but took some time to go visit his family in California earlier this year. That was fun and time we both needed.

I plan to get back to this blog on a regular basis now. I have lots of thoughts about education and technology that I would like to share!

Another Day of Unpacking, Reflecting, and Purging

I started my day with my three goals shining in front of me: (1) Move all the stuff from the small garage to the game room [clearing one of my storage areas completely]; (2) give the entire house a cleaning - leaving the weekend to have with my husband; and (3) organize my desk so I can get some schoolwork done. Yesterday, things went so well and my husband was so pleased that I was anxious to get started. But I think I am a little ADHD. I managed to get a little sidetracked. As I started moving boxes from one place to another. I realized that a number of the boxes contained clothes that the boys had long ago outgrown and some I wanted to get rid of. At one time I had thought to have a garage sale, but today I was being very honest with myself and realized that probably wouldn't happen. Our school - with 86% free and reduced lunch - started what we refer to as the Eagle Closet a few years ago. It is like a second hand clothing store where our families can come and "shop" for free. Now over the year I have bought my children some very nice clothes and I know they could be worn by other kids. I seem to have drifted upward in size (something I keep swearing I am going to correct) and have tons of clothes I no longer wear. So with all of this in mind, I set up the table on the deck and started sorting. I also realized I had two boxes of clothes in my closet that I had set aside for donations when I was putting things away in there, so I added them to the stacks. In the end, I decided that I cannot wait so long in the future to purge. Sheesh! Stuff stacked EVERYWHERE as you can see in the pictures. So I boxed it all up and off to the Eagle Closet it went - all six boxes and six lawn and leaf bags full!Okay, that felt good, so back to the garage I went. I decided to go back to the original plan of just moving it into the game room. I was cruising along until I hit the boxes of china and crystal. Stopped moving to sort. Again a little reflection. When my first husband and I got divorced, I split the china up - he got a couple of sets and I took a couple. (Okay, china is a weakness for me! And I did entertain a lot!) We had crystal glasses that could serve 100 because we used to have HUGE New Year's Eve parties. I split that 50/50. A few years ago he remarried and one day he called me and offered to give me all the china and crystal - as well as all of his mom's stuff. Turned out that his new bride didn't want any of that stuff in her house and he hoped that by giving it to me, it would eventually make its way to our sons. Plus, he knows how much I love the stuff and told me he couldn't stand seeing it go somewhere it wasn't appreciated. At the time I had NO room for it, so it went into storage. Which brings us to today. I went through all of it. There were some random pieces that weren't very nice and were mismatched. Those all went to a pile that I am saving. This fall our school has an annual rummage sale fundraiser. Those people buy everything and I know they are going for a good cause. I filled the china cabinet with glasswear until it can hold no more. Not sure about getting rid of that, so I put it on my list of thinking about it later. I took one very large set of my ex's mom's china and packed it for my son that now has his own place in Kansas. She wanted Chris to have this set and he said he will find a place for it if I bring it down at Thanksgiving. I also found all the dishes and pots and pans my husband had before he moved to South Dakota so I packed those nicely for the next boy that moves out. When all the dishes were dealt with, I finished off the garage. Well, unless you count the fact that I have a desk and a curio cabinet that need to have someone look at to refinish and a number of bicycles. Oh, my husband is going to be so happy with me!

Tony had to run errands this morning and Jamie had to work until 2. After they got home, I had them help me clean the kitchen and I sent them both off to clean their own bathrooms. I have cleaned my bathroom and ran a quick dustcloth, broom, and vacuum. On the whole, the house looks pretty good. I fear the desk will have to wait a bit for organization. So if you veer off your three goals and miss one, but you do tons more on another than planned, did you succeed for the day or fail. Either way, I am feeling pretty darn good about another day.

I promise, this blog will get back to reflecting on education and students and technology, but sometimes life gets in the way. Summer is a good time to clear the cobwebs literally and figuratively and I know I am getting that done. It will be so wonderful to start school this year feeling organized at home! I so needed this time. I hope my Three-A-Day Club is having as much fun as I am!

Going through some of my personal history

When I was 23, I got married. I married a very nice man, but did so on the rebound from another. Being Catholic, I threw myself into the marriage. We had three sons and a fair amount of drama in our lives. I had a miscarriage the first time I got pregnant. While I was pregnant with my oldest son, my father-in-law lost a lung, and almost his life, to cancer. Right after I had my third son, my mother-in-law had her second bout with cancer. (Her first was before I met my husband.) We nursed her for five years and she died in our arms. After her death, everything changed. My husband worked for his mother and there was a great deal of stress on him to learn more about the business to take over. As my youngest went off to school, I went back to college and got my teaching degree. My first year of teaching was awful and I quit at the end of the year. It was in a private school and I also pulled my children and put them in public school. I was a substitute the following year in public school and that proved to be fabulous because when I applied for a teaching position the following year, I knew just where I wanted to be. During these years, my husband and I grew far apart. I am not terribly certain he ever wanted me to go to work. When I was a stay-at-home wife and mother, the house was always clean and dinner was always ready. We entertained extensively (something I really loved) and traveled with some frequency. His busy schedule added to the stress. After 17 years of marriage and a bit of marriage counseling, we divorced. As in most divorces, packing was not an easy time. Things got thrown into boxes and I went from living in a 5000 sq. ft. house to a small two bedroom apartment. The three boys made it clear they wanted to live with their father – a fact that drove me to counseling and almost did me in. (They all came to live with me eventually. Thank heavens my therapist helped me with patience!) Because of my much smaller living space, I rented a storage unit and stored most of my boxes.

Three years later I married my high school sweetheart – the love of my life! He had gotten divorced a few years earlier and moved from California to marry me. Neither of us came out of our marriages financially secure, so we rented a house for almost five years. Well, this year that has changed. We have moved into a beautiful house and have tons of room. But all those boxes have come back to haunt me. They are all out of storage and lurking in our game room over the garage and our smaller garage.

I am doing a pretty good job of getting rid of junk – using the old “if you haven’t needed it in 8 ½ years, you don’t need it now” theory. But there are some things that are just not that easy. When I used to entertain, I had tons of stuff – crystal, china, silver, linens – you know STUFF. We haven’t been able to entertain in the last five years as our house was way too small. But now? So do I keep the stuff? Pare down the stuff? I also used to cake decorate. I have made a number of lovely wedding cakes as well as other kinds. I have three or four boxes of cake decorating pans, cake plates, and other paraphernalia. Will I get back to using that? These are things I don’t feel quite ready to get rid of yet. At what point are you just holding on to the past? I find myself planning a New Year’s Eve party as I write this. I found all the stuff I used to do that with! Oh, my husband is not going to be a happy guy. He isn’t quite as social as I am!

I guess I will keep going through boxes and get rid of the easy stuff. I will have to think about the rest. And see what I can convince my wonderful husband I NEED to keep! Feeling pretty good about the day : 9 boxes of books gone (a few sold and most donated) , 7 boxes sorted and put away, 2 boxes filled with more donations, and three very large trash bags full. Thanks to my Plurk friend, Karen for getting me motivated on three goals for the day. I got more done than expected!