A life in progress

Yesterday, I used this sad llama to show how I felt about leaving my students Today... I don't know... I have to try to find a sadder llama.  I don't know if there's a better embodiment of my heartbreak than Kuzco sitting in the rain as a sad llama. Maybe a sad elephant. Yeah - just imagine the saddest thing ever.  If you aren't crying - here's a  BuzzFeed article  to help start the tears.  Read that and then come back to me. Ok?  Are you crying now?  Because I am.  I didn't even have to reread that article.  Just finding the link made me a little misty.  Don't judge.  It's been a rough day. Today started like any other normal day.  Actually, it started earlier than most normal days because I had to get all my grades finalized so I went in early. Before school even started, my neighbor came in to give me goodbye treats.  They were amazing and I ate way to many of them.  Again - this is a no judging ...

Today has been absolutely heart wrenching. I saw half of my students for the last time - since my school is on a block schedule, I only see my students every other day, making today the last time I will see many of them. That also makes today the first real slap-in-the-face reality of leaving the classroom.  I have been a teacher for 10 years, plus some student teaching and that weird year in China, so... let's call it 12 - which is the same age as many of my students.  I have been a teacher since before most of my students could walk, or talk.  To them, it is a lifetime. And I guess in many ways, it's a lifetime for me, too. For the past ten years, I have woken up every day and gone into a room of young people where I was expected to be the smartest person in there -- or at least the one that knew what was going on... Usually that was the case... However, that wasn't always how it went. Teaching is much harder than I ever thought it would ...

I haven't written anything for quite a while.  Largely, that's because I spent the past (almost year) focusing on finishing law school, graduating, and passing the bar.  Fortunately for me (and my husband), I did all of those things.  Yay me! However, I've had a lot on my mind lately and I decided it was time to let it all out. **warning - this is kind of long and ranty and mild profanity does appear in this post** I'm going to vote tomorrow morning.  I like voting.  It makes me feel like I'm a part of something bigger than myself.  Nevada, fortunately, has early voting, which means I can go to the mall, get a corndog, and vote with very little fuss.  Voting on actual election day is kind of a pain, and I like this 21st century mall-based system I live in. Like most people, I'm not shy about who I'm voting for in the election. Over the past year, I've had mixed anxiety levels about a "President Trump" world.  Fortunately, as of ...