After Winter… March 18, 2009
Posted by Morocco in Uncategorized.Tags: color, God, God's love, greenery, happiness, hope, picture mail, reminder, seasons, spring, winter
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When I saw these budding green sprouts yesterday, it made me so happy! The weather is cold, the grass brown, and the sun shines only for a fleeting moment. Everything seems so lifeless and barren. But seeing this lovely burst of green was a gentle reminder that God has not forgotten about me. This is His version of “picture mail! He designed spring to follow winter for a reason. Hallelujah!
Springing forward!
A Leap of Faith February 24, 2009
Posted by Morocco in Teaching.Tags: arts, decisions, hope, humanties, new job, novels, Teaching
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I was offered the position at my alma mater which boasts an all-school magnet program in the arts and humanties. As a student I was in both magnets and loved my high school. One of the classes I am slated to teach is called “Novels” and I will be allowed to design my own curriculum for this particular class!
I have mixed emotions. It will be hard to leave the dsyfunctional place I am currently at. It is an evil I know. At least four of my current colleagues are going with me, so I am not completely nostalgic about leaving. But I am a little afraid and nervous to be in a new environment with a new boss and a new set of expectations. I hope I am not jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. Wish me luck!
More Than a Conqueror January 24, 2009
Posted by Morocco in A Beautiful Mind.Tags: cancer, faith, friends, hope, inspiration, love, positive attitude, strength, survivor
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“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ” ~Romans 8:37
I first met her when I was in middle school. We were not the best of friends. Our journey continued on to high school. We pretty much ignored each other. Fate would have it that we would continue on to the same college. Somehow we ended up talking casually being that we were both strangers in a strange land. We having not stopped talking since.
In 2005 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was shocked beyond words. She was so young!!! I felt so afraid for her and could not stop my tears from flowing. But through her trials she never gave up. She is the epitome of courage.
She has been a fount of strength for me in my time of sorrow. I can’t even articulate how her support, love, and positivity have kept me afloat.
And she is currently going through another bout of cancer. Her faith could move mountains. She is such an inspiration that I encouraged her to start a blog. Because I know that her life and experiences will bless others and keep their spirits buoyed, too.
Live Through This December 31, 2008
Posted by Morocco in Hope is the thing with feathers.Tags: 2009, faith, God, hope, love, new year, New Year's, problems, Stepmom, widow
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2008 has been quite a year for me. I never imagined that I would lose both my mother and my husband in the same year. But as painful, terrifying, and debilitating as it is, I know I will make it. The truth of the matter is that we can live without lost loved ones even when our carnal flesh feels we can’t.
If that wasn’t the case I would have died my first death when my grandmother died in 1994.
And again when my uncle died in 2001.
And again when my great-aunt died in 2002.
And again when my aunt died in 2004.
And I would have died twice this year alone.
I was very close to each one of them.
Yet I’m still here. I have had many comatose moments in the pit of despair since he’s been gone. I am crawling out of it at a snail’s pace. At my lowest points I feel that I can’t go on. However, I know these thoughts are strictly from the devil. He wants me to believe that I can’t exist without him which spawns depression and suicidal thoughts. But the devil is a liar.
No matter what you are going through, and I can guarantee that you will go through something in the year to come, just remember you can make it! I hope to grow and learn from my trials . What else is there to do? Eventually I hope to use my testimony to help other widows and stepmoms through this difficult time. And as long as I am alive, I have a chance to do this. I have lived through a lot of strife in my short time. You can, too!
I hope everyone has a blessed year in 2009!
Welcome Back! August 20, 2008
Posted by Morocco in Why Me?.Tags: confusion, English class, first day, hope, Pink Floyd, school, stress, students, teacher
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Day 1: What a day it has been! Today was my first day of school. It was a day of mass confusion and overall craziness. A fight took place as soon as the doors opened. Many of the kids were resentful to be back at school already. I could hear Pink Floyd singing:
We don’t need no education
We don’t need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it’s just another brick in the wall.
All in all you’re just another brick in the wall.
Day 5: Not much has changed from day one. I have a class of 67 with a room that contains 30 desks! We have masses of students who do not have a schedule, therefore it is safe to conclude that my other classes will swell as well.
The majority of the students do not have lockers or ID’s. Only a handful have text books.
We have a new ridiculously long lesson plan template that has already garnered over 300 complaints with the union.
We have a new principal who has his hands full.
We have added grades 7-8. We also have a group of “under/over” students in grades 5 and 6. They are ages 15-16 years old.
My back is strained terribly from lifting boxes, hauling the 70 literature and grammar tomes for my classroom set, and removing desks that were stacked on top of each other. I mean seriously, I had to stay reclined over the weekend because my back felt so terrible.
Information and communication is not flowing very well between administration and teachers. We are often told about things the morning of. Case in point, I was told the day before school started that I was scheduled to teach a section of etymology. Had I known about this in advance, I could have spent time in the summer creating lessons for this provocative subject. But no, that would have been too convenient for me!
I feel exhausted already!
But I still can see silver linings:
- I have a helpful resource teacher for period 1
- I have a job that I am healthy enough to attend daily
- I have a fair amount of students who seem eager to learn
- Yesterday a student gifted me with a composition notebook that she picked up specifically for me!
- I am in a remodeled classroom
Welcome!
My bulletin boards, I reserved one for student work
I love my dry erase boards!
Reading, my favorite sport!
Anne Bradstreet’s “The Flesh and The Spirit” March 9, 2008
Posted by Morocco in This Too Shall Pass.Tags: choices, determination, hope, poetry
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Be still, thou unregenerate part,
Disturb no more my settled heart,
For I have vowed (and so will do)
Thee as a foe still to pursue,
And combat with thee will and must
Until I see thee laid in th’ dust.
Sister we are, yea twins we be,
Yet deadly feud ‘twixt thee and me,
For from one father are we not.
Thou by old Adam wast begot,
But my arise is from above,
Whence my dear father I do love.
Thou speak’st me fair but hat’st me sore.
Thy flatt’ring shews I’ll trust no more.
How oft thy slave hast thou me made
When I believed what thou hast said
And never had more cause of woe
Than when I did what thou bad’st do.
I’ll stop mine ears at these thy charms
And count them for my deadly harms.
Thy sinful pleasures I do hate,
Thy riches are to me no bait.
Thine honours do, nor will I love,
For my ambition lies above.
Everyday I fight temptation to do what I know is right…I don’t always win!!!
