A Long Time Coming...

I guess one could say that two things have inspired me to begin this blog -- one because today is "THE DAY" and the other because of my daughter-in-law who pours her heart and soul into teaching daily. So, as I begin, I will address that today is "THE DAY" first! So, what is today? Today, seven years ago, I lost my best friend, my mom, Dr. Karen Hill, to the ugly monster called cancer. I think that everyone will agree that my mom embodied the term, "SUPERWOMAN." I was completely convinced that she could leap from building to building in a single bound. She had the ability to bring joy to anyone who crossed her path. Many teachers, through the years, have shared with me that they believe, at some point, she may have scolded them for some reason or other. However, they continually state that she did it so lovingly they didn't figure out that she was scolding them until long after they had left her office and even arrived home! Honestly, I would love to have more of those attributes... I tend to be more dogmatic... more forward... more open my mouth when sometimes I could just be quiet kinda person... but not my mother she exemplified kindness, humility, and all those other Godly characteristics that one conjures up when thinking about a Godly woman -- that she was for sure! At different points in my mom's life, she faced difficulties but she faced them with dignity. She would often talk about how early she lost her mom, my grandmother Pauline, and how she missed her not knowing at the time that she would leave this world way too early herself barely 61 and I don't know about you but by my standard that's pretty young to check out of here! Momma never wavered in her faith and even in the darkest of times, she stood strong! I have so much to tell you all about my mother but that will come soon in the form of a book that I promised her I would author... she just didn't know that she would be the subject :) So, be on the look-out! My mom continues to inspire me and I am forever grateful that God chose her to be MY MOM and of course Andrea and Lindy's mom! But, wow, I can't express to you all how proud I am that God chose her to be MY MOM -- my best friend for so long who continues to inspire me to be all that I can be! My mom was always concerned that teachers did not have enough support, and I tend to agree with her. There are so many teachers out there daily giving it everything they have teaching students and they love it immensely -- the good days and the not so good days. However, overall, I don't think they get enough support. One only has to look at the research and one can figure out pretty quick that teachers are leaving the profession in droves... mostly in the first five years of their career never to return-- what a complete loss! And why? As I get the ultimate opportunity to go in and out of classroom daily, I see the tiredness on the faces and the weariness of "what's next?" and the teachers and students are in a proverbial cycle and can not stop spinning for fear of "not getting it all covered." I watch teachers teach SO FAST and never even notice it because of the pressures they are under to perform. It's just plain sad... I remember all too well the days of teaching sixth and seventh grade and in a rural trailer out on the side of campus in a small rural neighborhood school. Life was peaceful, and students AND teachers did not feel such unfair pressure on them... test scores... oh yes, we had them but they didn't rule everything that we did! Okay, so on to the second reason for my inspiration for this blog... BTW... please share with everyone! So, my second reason you ask? It came in a very simple form just this week. I received a text from my daughter-in-law. Now, let me set up the context for this scenario. My oldest son and daughter have two children -- Liam Jace who is 2 1/2 and our princess, Lily Kate, who is four months old. Their mom, my daughter-in-law has been teaching now for five years... just coming into her prime some might say, and she forever more LOVES teaching children. My text message was simply this... she and her team teacher had converted their entire hall into The Polar Express. I have no idea how many hours they had invested in this project but it must have been several all because they knew the students would enjoy it in that they were doing a unit on The Polar Express. Now, here's the deal... two very small children who demand her attention everyday when she gets home and not to mention her grandmother is very, very sick and on hospice with pancreatic cancer, and still she is able to convert her entire hall into The Polar Express and do it with joy and a smile on her face! So, this blog has been created to attempt to identify and resonate with those characteristics that my mother possessed as well as my sweet, young daughter-in-law to keep pushing forward and stay in the professional career that she loves most -- TEACHING! Please share with blog with your friends whether they be educators or not -- "we women" need uplifting and know that we truly are "SUPERWOMEN!" Stay tuned for pictures on Wednesday! Again, please share with all of your friends! Goodnight, Terri