My husband and I have been battling illness for a majority of my winter break, but I think that we are on the mend and I'll be able to return to work on Monday feeling healthy again.
Sunday: Maddie and I drove to my mom's house (three hours away) to spend New Year's at her house. Any time the two of us can travel without incident, and by that I mean, not witnessing any accidents, I feel that there's reason to celebrate. Maddie loves time with her Grandma (and vice versa) so she was happy as a clam.
Monday: I spent most of the day with our Chalkboard Project/Collaboration Grant coach working out a timeline for work left ahead of us for the remainder of the school year. There's nothing necessarily fun about working during your break, however, it felt good to process some of the grant work left ahead of us. I left with a plan of action for the next couple weeks-success!
Tuesday: In my Slice of Life post on Tuesday, I shared about my daughter's participation in making mochi for Japanese New Year. This still sticks with me as the best part of my week since she is engaging in a tradition that my dad and I started together six years ago. Since dad died in 2010, I've been doing mochi for Japanese New Year on my own and it's been lonely. This year, Maddie changed all of that by wanting to be a part of the entire process. It's something my dad would have loved to see - it's something that just makes me smile as I type this.
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| Our 2014 Mochi |
Wednesday: Maddie and I traveled home...safely. As stated above in regards to travel, any time Maddie and I are on the road without incident then I celebrate. When we arrived, we found my husband still sick but at least without the fever that we left him with on Sunday.
Thursday: Maddie and I checked the mail to retrieve packages from Christmas that we were expecting but didn't arrive until after. One package that was in there was my National Board Certificate. I completed the renewal process last spring for the Middle Childhood Generalist certificate. The National Board process has been the one thing I've done for myself professionally that I am most proud of. The process has helped me to develop habit where I reflect about my practice and continues to open my eyes about what I do and how I do it. It is the filter that I run things through in terms of - is this action was is best for kids? The feeling of accomplishment with renewal was the same as when I submitted my portfolio in 2004. My husband, daughter, and colleagues have continued to support my efforts to constantly learn and grow and for this I will always be grateful.
Friday: My husband has always been my biggest supporter when it comes to continuing education, personal professional development, basically, anything I do to constantly learn and grow. So, the National Board Certificate was something he congratulated me on but did not get the "big deal" that it us until he saw the 100+ Likes on my Facebook page. He then, on his own, planned a babysitting for Maddie and dinner out at wonderful restaurant in Lincoln City. We rarely go out, and when we do we usually have Maddie with us, so this was a pleasant surprise. I loved that he was willing to make a big deal about celebrating my National Board Certificate.
Saturday: Today, I walked my second Newport Resolution run. What sets this year apart is that I signed up for the Polar Plunge. By plunge, I mean that I dove into the frigid waters of the Yaquina Bay after I finished my race. My husband thought I was crazy, but he did bring Maddie to the finish line so she could see me plunge. For me, this run was unlike last year's in that I spent my time during the "run" thinking about resolutions for reading, writing, mentoring, parenting, marriage, and health. The plunge was a sort of cleansing of old habits to make room for the changes that I intend to make this year. At the end of the race, my friends that finished ahead of me were there waiting for me making the finish all the more special.
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| Majalise, Me, & Jana before the race |
There is a lot to look forward to this next week: return to mentoring my beginning teachers who I've missed, my last mentor training of the year with the new instructional coach that we hired, the leadership team I facilitate as part of the Collaboration Grant, the books I plan to read and the writing that is ahead of me.
What are you celebrating?
Have a fantastic week!
