Steve Jobs and the Other Side...

Halloween brings out the wicked in many folks. The zombies roam the earth. Hands push their way through the dirt of a fresh dug grave site.Morbidly, there are times when I think of death and what that moment will entail... Driving by a graveyard and think "Those lucky bastards". They get the rest they worked hard for! :)
Will it be painful?
Will it be filled with bright white light and a rush of air?
Will there be family and friends on the other side there to greet me?
Some folks speak of a white light. Some speak of a grand dark wood staircase...Victorian in nature.
Some speak of a calming familiar voice saying that they will be there to help you through to the other side.

Recently, Steve Jobs lost his earthly battle to cancer. He was able to go quietly with his family surrounding him at his bedside. One of the things that I found interesting was information in the eulogy Mr. Jobs' sister provided at his memorial when she spoke of his last moments on Earth. She mentioned that his breath became shorter and shorter. "His breath," she said, "indicated an arduous journey, some steep path, altitude." I find a parallel to this idea. What she spoke of allowed me to envision a strong climb up a steep mountainside where there are rocks and crevasses to climb over, going higher and higher. I can envision the climb getting steeper and steeper and getting closer and closer to the clouds and the bright, sunny sky pushing the oxygen out of my lungs...climbing our way past the cloud line and above the grandeur of it all and the view is the most breath taking of our lives!

She goes on to say that, "Steve was like a girl in the amount of time he spent talking about love. Love was his supreme virtue, his god of gods. He tracked and worried about the romantic lives of the people working with him." Truthfully, besides the opportunity to live our lives fully here on Earth, love is the most important thing that God gives us all the opportunity to experience, in whatever form it comes in. I have spoken numerous times on the topic of love and will allow that to stand on it own.

What I found the most moving of all was her conclusion to the eulogy. She shared his final moments, which were spent staring lovingly at his family. What scares me the most is the idea of being all alone, in the dark, and to not have a chance to tell the ones I love how much they have meant in my own life. She went on to say that somehow he looked past their shoulders, staring off into the distance at something most beautiful and was only able to say three monosyllabic words and it turned out to his final words on this Earth.

OH WOW.
OH WOW.
OH WOW.

Just beautiful.
My sincerest hope is that I can reach that mountaintop, have my family and friends there to greet me so that I too can say, "Oh WOW!"

Trying to hold on...

As you can see, there have been few blog posts recently.

Life has been fairly hectic. From school to home work, from play rehearsals after school to traveling with the Competitive Speech Team to our first tournament. From morning rehearsals to grading papers and drama tests. I am finding that the school year schedule has kicked in at last.

We open our fall play next week, 2 1/2 weeks earlier this year than last in hopes that as we get farther into the semester, we can have some breathing room. Right now there is more gasping than breathing. We had Homecoming only two and a half weeks ago and had a complete Homecoming set on that stage...to see it now is AMAZING. We have transformed the stage into a fully functional Victorian home complete with grand staircase, antique furniture (donated from all over), and draperies. Fabric covered walls, stained glass windows, and costumes that will blow your mind. I keep thinking...this is truly amazing...for a high school program to have THIS many artistic opportunities for students to express themselves, to be provided this amazing opportunity in a high school setting blows my mind. HUGE. Just plain HUGE.

One of the neat things about this year though is that there is most definitely a feel that this year is "different" than the last 2 years. I can definitely feel less agitation when I come to work. I am finding that I have found my groove when it comes to teaching. Sure there are times when I feel less prepared than others, but I also can feel that the pressure is off...from taking tests, from attending Saturday classes, from dealing with in-class observations, from the pressures of having to create EVERYTHING from scratch to fit my knowledge and syllabus. I now have files, and flash drives, and can turn to them in the drop of a hat.

We have a new faculty member in our department who has the task of going down the same road I did these last two years. I can see it in her eyes and am trying to be there for her. I completely understand how overwhelming those first two years can be...that feeling of just barely breaking the surface, sometimes feeling like you are about to sink. Thankfully, I had folks who were there to pick me up, reattach my water wings and give me the slight push I needed. Thank GOD for WATER WINGS! :)

I do however find great solace in finally having my own home. I feel great peace when I walk in the door, greeted by my partner, and can just sit down and relax. My home may not be in the best situation yet, but we truly have only been in here for about three weeks. We are still unpacking, painting, fixing, and getting things to the "way we like it". But there is a light at the end of the tunnel here as well and you can all expect pictures posted soon of the results. We are excited to share the fun things we have found and come up with in our home.

We have a few days off in the next few weeks. I count those days down...I shouldn't but I do. I think that those days are greatly earned...

Homecoming week DOPPLEGANGERS

SO last week was Homecoming week at NLRHS! It was fun to see the kids' creativity with all the of dress-up days. With all that has been going on in my life the last few weeks, there was no way I was going to be able to show my spirit by going overboard to dress up. HOWEVER, one of the days was "Dress like your Favorite Teacher" Day!!! Was very cool to have some of my students decide to dress up like me...and wondered just exactly would that look like... I think they did a great job!! Totally flattering!

This young lady texted me the night before asking what I would be wearing the next day. I told her, " Sweater, flashy tie, dark denim, and a pair of splashy socks." She then texted, " Shoes?" to which I responded, "Brown"...and the text I recieved was, "You should wear BLUE...Just Sayin" LMAO!!! She even had the two silver hoops in her ears. Not Bad!!!

And this young lady went as far as drawing in the goatee and the bright yellow socks!! Super splashy!!!

Was a fun day and then we went on to beat the opposing team 45-0 for the football game! Was the end of a great week!!