A Teacher's Heart

  I have been a teacher now for ten years.  WOW!  That sounds like so much time!  I have always felt that I was given this special gift from God and I try very hard to give one hundred percent of myself. 

One thing that makes me a little different from most teachers is that every year I fall in love.  A new class comes in and somehow within the first few weeks, they steal my heart.  They are each so special and each one has something special to bring to our class to make us complete.  I talk with my class every year about the fact that we are like a family.  I tease them and tell them that I am their school MOM and they are my children.  I really take this to heart. 

Over the past few weeks, I have experienced some situations with my children, that have made me really think about how so many of them need me to love them.  Sometimes I am the only smile they see, the only hug they get, the only positive words said to them. 

Whether its the little boy who doesn't know where he will be sleeping that night, or the little girl who witnesses a mother's abuse or the child whose parents split up and he somehow feels its his fault.   These are the situations you don't learn about in school.  There are no guidelines on healing a child's wounds.  You just have to be there for them and help them through.  I try to tell my children everyday before they leave me to have a great night, and to always remember, "Mrs. Jackson loves you".  I hope that is enough for some of my little children to make it through whatever life may be handing them.  They are so young and most of them innocent.  I am so grateful to be given each group of children I receive year after year.  Even the ones that challenge you the most somehow reach in a take a piece of my heart away.  After all they are the ones that need me the most!  

You can learn many things in school about being a teacher.  How to teach a child to read, addition and subtraction strategies, skills for teaching science and social studies.  They don't teach you how to handle difficult situations in the lives of your children.  These are things you have to acquire on your own.  Much like having a teacher's heart!

 

Dear Lord,Thank you for giving the ability to love and teach children.  Please watch over each one of them tonight.  Whatever they may be experiencing Lord, I pray that you would touch their lives.  Thank you for letting each special one be a part of my life!!

 

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are endless. ~ Mother Teresa

Grandma's Song

I guess by now, you have all seen how much I love to write poetry.  It has always been a way for me to express myself, no matter what I'm feeling.  Friday night I happen to notice Rusty's mom lying in Nathan's bed just staring at the ceiling.  She had been reading books with Nathan, but just like any two year old, he got tired of that and went on his way.  I walked in there and lay beside her.  I asked

" Are you thinking about Granddaddy?"  This is very easy to do in Nathan's room, since that is where he was when God called him home.  She said "All the time!"  " What am I going to do? I don't know what to do."  I felt my heart ache so much for her, because I know the pain in her heart is 100 time worse than what I feel inside.  We lay there and cried together for a few moments.  Many nights when I go to bed, I think about her in that house by herself and wonder what she may be doing.  She tells me that she sleeps in Granddaddy's chair at night, so I picture her there, missing him so much.  Anyway that is what inspired this poem.  I have been working on it for a few nights and it is now complete. 

 

I was lying in bed and imagined her there,

All cuddled up in your favorite chair.

I saw the hurt in her eyes, can't imagine the pain in her heart. 

She wants to live life again, but she doesn't know where to start.

She feels so lost, she doesn't know what to do,

Will the love you gave her be enough to get her through?

She longs to see your face again to see your beautiful smile,

to hold your hand, sit by your side and talk for just awhile.

Every word you ever said plays over in her mind,

She'd give everything she has to hear your voice just one more time.

So many years together, now so far apart,

Oh Lord, please help her heal her wounded, broken heart!

Your spirit is all around her, every place you've ever been,

The memories you made will last until you meet again.

Granddaddy, hold her close and keep watch from up above,

Let her know you will always be there, so she can feel your love.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Today, Mom, Karen and I went and had spa treatment at The Nail Studio.  Up until a few months ago this was a biweekly event for us.  Life has sort of gotten in the way lately and we haven't been since November.  They welcomed us today and seemed very excited we were there.  We always seem to become "the life of the party" when we are there.  We had a blast and actually got DELUXE pedicures and HOT OIL manicures.  Having done this today, I started thinking about how mani/pedis are definitely two of my favorite things.  This inspired me to write this poem.  I hope you enjoy!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Bubble baths by candlelight, bathing in the sunlight, butterfly kisses that say goodnight., these are my favorite things.

Dinner and a movie with my favorite girls, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry swirls, feeling like I'm on top of the world, these are my favorite things.

Singing in the shower, a bouquet of beautiful flowers, pillow talk for hours, these are my favorite things.

Laughing til I cry, the taste of sweet apple pie (a la mode),fireworks on the Fourth of July, these are my favorite things.

The sound of little feet, hugs and kisses, ( what a treat!), dancing to a familiar beat , these are my favorite things.

Gentle massages, weekends away, vacations to the beach, a Happy Birthday!

Manicures and pedicures, carpet picnics while watching TV, being serenaded by two special boys, spending time with my family.

What more could I want, what more could I need?  All of these things are what make me, ME!

Fun Friday

Tonight we had a house full of guests.  We were suppose to go out to eat, but Nathan started feeling a little under the weather, so the party came to us.  We ordered in Wild Wings, and really enjoyed being together.  Nathan perked up and he and Patrick had a blast playing with Grandma, Aunt Brenda, Aunt Debra, Dexter and Lindsay.

Once everyone had left and things had settled down, Rusty told Patrick it was time to put his patch on for the night.  You see a year ago this month we discovered that our oldest son Patrick was having trouble seeing.  When we took him to the doctor, we never expected them to say his vision in both eyes was 20/100.  I'll never forget the way my heart felt that day.  But we let him pick out his glasses and our journey into "sightseeing" had begun.  After a few visits they told us that his left eye was stronger than his right, so we patch his left eye each night for one hour to help the right.  He has two patches that we purchased online to help make this process a little fun.  His favorite is the one with a lightning bolt and a capital P.  He says it stands for "POWERFUL Patrick" , although the company says powerful patch.  Tonight when it was time to put it on, Nathan asked if he could have one.  So here is the result of his question:

 

How cute!! He really does love his brother and wants to do EVERYTHING he does.  What can I say, he's a HOOT!