We missed you!

My first year of teaching was in 2002. I started mid-year in January and I took over for one of my favorite teachers. Yep - I had gone back to teach in my old high school.

My first week was horrible. My favorite teacher was also their favorite teacher and those little 9th graders wanted nothing to do with me. I was walking a fine line between being super-strict to announce my authority (!) and being kind to let them know I was rational. I cried every night and I was exhausted. I was in bed by 7pm sometimes. The week I started was also the first week I started dating Andy - so there was lots going on.

By my second year I had it all together. Yes - there were days that still drove me nuts - but I also learned to relax and enjoy myself. I learned to look past the kids' behavior while they were learning (which was where most of the acting-up occured) and started to see how they acted before the bell rang. They cracked me up - they were so smart and talented and funny and real. I learned a lot that year. During that second year I had two students, Katie and Kristen, who were just great. They were fraternal twin girls (talk about foreshadowing), different as night and day (more foreshadowing). When they graduated 4 years later they ended up attending a college about 15 minutes from where I live now. They would come over every Tuesday night for dinner and to hang out with the little girls. I became friends with their mom, too - they are such a nice family.

This is their sophomore year in college now and things got busy for them, as it should, so our weekly dinners had to be put on the back burner for a while. But they got to visit a few weeks ago with their mom. Here are some pictures from that day ...

Katie readind to Maddie - a "Max and Ruby" book of course!


The whole gang hanging out! Mrs. Mullen loves to read this blog - and she tells me it brings back so many memories of her girls when they were this age. She gives me tons of advice - especially for meals! (Yuck to meals is what I say.)

Kristen is in the background there - my Katie gravitates to her and likes to climb and bounce and rough around.

This is the adorable fleece jacket and hat they gave my girls for Christmas. Katie wouldn't take it off!

We ended up coloring at the kitchen table - and they ALL colored. (My Katie, still wearing her jacket. The hat is hanging on the phone - look upper right.)

I was cooking dinner throughout this - and Mrs. Mullen was giving me tips like to save the Happy Meal bags from McDonald's and put their food in that. She did that for her girls years ago - and she said with a wink that sometimes McDonald's served broccoli!

I am so glad that they were able to visit me - and I hope to see them all again soon!