Well, it's Sunday morning and another Spring Break has come and gone. Overall, I'd have to say it was a fantastic break. We didn't travel anywhere or do anything huge. But we had a good time staying close to home and relaxing. Below are some pictures of the highlights.
As I was looking through some old posts, I realized that I never updated anything about our possible move to the Philippines. We spent a lot of time praying and thinking through everything and decided that it would be best for us to wait a year to go. It was a tough decision, but we feel like we made the right move for our family. We're still hoping to go next summer and we'll be in constant prayer about it over the next few months. Thanks for all of your support! We'll keep you updated.
Last week, I plopped down on the couch and pried open my laptop expecting to check my email and do some other kind of general surfing, when to my dismay I got the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD)! For those of you not lucky enough to have experienced this on a Windows machine (Mac users leave your snide comments to yourself), basically instead of seeing my desktop, I see a blue screen with a bunch of gobbly-gook telling my what my problem is and how to fix it.
ack to life in a more simple time. We've started doing things the old fashioned way once again. Sarah is churning our butter, we're washing clothes by hand, after supper we listen to radio programs on the radio, and we sit around by candlelight at night and tell the stories that been passed on from generation to generation. We tried lighting a fire in the fireplace, but those silly stone logs just would not stay lit no matter how much lighter fluid I used. It's probably best because there isn't a chimney for the smoke, so it would have made our house a little smoky.As I'm sitting here sipping my homemade Americano, I can't help but think that this is my 3rd favorite part of being a teacher...Spring Break! At the end of last week, I was feeling ragged, worn down, and generally exhausted. Teaching is a tough gig, even if we do only have to work 9 months out of the year. And the job is getting tougher every year. The government and administrators heap on more expectations, requirements, and duties. Parents generally become more demanding and unrealistic. And to top it all off, many students are becoming less responsible and more apathetic. I've only been in the game for a few years and I can already tell that public education is in big trouble.
I've had the privilege of working with some very experienced teachers on the verge of retirement after teaching for 30ish years. Several of them have tried to convince other young teachers and myself to seek out other careers for our own mental health and well-being. They've seen education change so much and they can't imagine getting started now. The average new teacher only lasts about 3-5 years in the classroom these days.
I hope that I can still be standing in 30 years as a teacher because, after all, I do love my job. I love seeing kids learn how to read and write. I love walking kids through all the drama that comes with being a kid. I love sitting down with (most) parents and trying to figure out how to help a kid learn. I love teaching kids life lessons. It's the best job in the world! Hopefully, someday, someone with the influence to change things will realize that the Powers That Be are sucking the joy out of a tough job.
"So Peter," you ask, "if spring break is your 3rd favorite part of teaching, what are your 1st and 2nd favorite parts about teaching?" Good question, I'm glad you asked! Number two is Christmas break and Number one is summer break! Like I said before, I love my job...but I do love taking time off to be with my family and friends even more!
My dream began with me making it into the top 10 on the show! I was doing well and having a blast out in LA. Everyone knew I wasn't the strongest performer, but I got through on my personality and boyish good looks. Actually, I made that last part up. I probably had more of the gray-hair Taylor Hicks appeal.
At any rate, I must have reached my apex because I botched my next performance and forgot some of the words to the Backstreet Boys song I was singing! Looking back on it, I'm sure Simon would have blasted me on my song choice...why the Backstreet Boys??? In fact, if I got to choose a song from my birth year like they did last week, I would have probably chosen "My Sharona," "I Will Survive" (but I would do the version by the band Cake), "YMCA," or "Knock on Wood" which were all released in 1979. Man, 1979 really was a good year!
Back to my dream. So the day after my botched performance, I did just like any other contestant on American Idol would do...I went to church with my wife! We were walking around and I felt kind of down because I knew I was going to get cut from the show later that night. But then I got even more depressed because nobody at church even recognized me. I thought for sure that people would be coming up to me saying, "Hey! Here's that guy from American Idol!" Nobody knew who I was. Then I woke up.
I installed my first ceiling fan in Avery's bedroom this past week! The best part is...nothing caught on fire! I've never done much electrical wiring before so I was a little nervous, but so far, so good! One room down, three to go!
I just woke up from a very odd dream. In my dream, my grandparents had bought a roadside stand that sold all kinds of Virginia Tech gear - shirts, hats, blankets, stickers, you name it. They were oh, so proud of their little store! My grandmother gave me a call and invited me over to shop. She inquired as to whether or not I'd like to have my inheritance in the form of VT wear! How funny! The crazy part about it? I said yes...
Posts
All Comments
