You Know The Rest...

It's David's birthday today. He was one of my best friends in high school. He was the one who wrote 6 pages in my yearbook senior year. He was the one who fought with me about God, school, music, swimming... and yet always with a kindness and respect I've rarely experienced in this life. David and I worked together and even went on vacations together. He was a very important part of my development as a human. He was one of those friends who made me better and happier than I would have been had I not known him.

Today is David's 42nd birthday. We don't talk much these days as we live a thousand miles away from each other, and are both busy with our lives- spouses we adore, children we laugh with and jobs we want to make a difference in. Still, Dave will always be part of who I am. He was one of those friends- one my soul needed at an essential time, and one who was simply there.

Birthdays are strange... it is the one day we focus on to celebrate a person. It is the day we remember to tell them we miss them, or that they are special to us... I should tell Sir Dave this more often- but he knows. I don't know him well as the man he has become, but from the little I've seen, I continue to be impressed. Hey... after all, he started following this lame blog a few months ago, so I guess he can't be too bad!?

The Horrifying and Life-Affirming Sunday Evening...

It is the last evening of my summer. Such a weird time... most adults are done with the summer/school thing after college, but not teachers. The whole change is horrifying, and yet, life-affirming.

The weather is kindly cooperating... it has been cool and overcast for the last few days- thank you world for that.

I have no idea how I will get up tomorrow morning at 6am. I slept until 10am this morning. I had every intention in the world of going to bed early last night, but it was my last Saturday night of summer, and Halli really wanted to hang out... 1:30am was probably not a good bed time choice. Oops. Horrifying.

Still, like with the changing of the seasons, the annual ritual of "back to school" gives me a sense of movement in life- a sense of new opportunities and clean slates. Kids return and are alive with the change- excited to see friends and excited for the change, even if they aren't happy about being back in class.

One of the strangest things about my job is the fact that most of the people I work with NEVER age. They are always 14-18 years old. I think this gives me a false sense of being ageless myself. I know I act immature at times- I'm pretty sure I can blame the kids for immersing me in the teen hormonal pool that is high school... but it is a good thing. They help me remember what is really important- and that being silly is good- no matter how many gray hairs are peeking out.

So... I'll drag my old sorry *butt* out of bed tomorrow and jump back in... there is so much hope at school- so many moments of light bulbs turning on... so many opportunities to learn, to teach and to appreciate the horrifying yet life-affirming cycle that is "back to school"...

"It's the most wonderful time of the year..." (recall Staples commercial)

Aren't moms supposed to "know what's best"???

Yes, I know I've been gone for sometime...and I am sorry... I apologize to the 2-3 people who started bugging me about getting back to writing- I still struggle with the whole "if I plan to keep this thing going" question.

So motherhood has predominantly been on my mind lately. Not really the concept of it, or the how to's or the power of the position. Instead, I've just been cherishing my role as mom of the Gibson girls... and I've been learning. I'm continually impressed by the connection I feel to them. I see them as their own people... not little "Kelly robots" but I feel so fundamentally and emotionally connected to each. Yes, this might be obvious to many, but I've been feeling it all... noticing how much I miss them when I'm not with them; wondering what they think about ideas or people when I'm not there to ask; curious as to how they handle specific situations we haven't discussed... so much is left to that "general teaching" concept... we can't get them ready for every situation, but I have to admit it is weird when they actually use ideas we've given them.

One of these that keeps showing up is a lesson Rob and I learned years ago, specifically regarding each other. When the girls are having bad days- for whatever reason- we've talked about how much positive energy is created by simply taking time away from yourself and the bad day, and going out of your way to do something nice for someone else. Usually there is little to do to "fix" the bad day you are having- especially when you are a teenage girl... instead, we've suggested they use the day to help someone else. It is difficult to do, because we tend to be in a highly self-focused place when dark days descend... yet, it fundamentally changes the energy and focus of the day. The girls are continually amazed how well this works.

And still, this is just one lesson... there are so many questions I don't have answers to... so many problems they will encounter that we haven't figured out ourselves- I plan to have a front row seat to watch them and cheer them- help them when they ask, and love every minute of this bizzare job.