2009, Birthdays, & Work

Happy New Year! My dad and brother have birthdays in early January. Keith turned 41 on the 3rd and dad turned 63 on the 5th. I'm not sure how mom managed having two birthdays so close together and right after Christmas all of these years. As with the rest of my family, my dad and older brother are amazing. Now, Keith was a little ornery while we were growing up...what with the chasing us around the house with a baseball bat when my parents weren't home at times and locking us outside in the cold frequently. But I have to say that he grew out of that very nicely and is so kind, thoughtful, and caring now. He also tends to be a bit of a dork, but I mean that in the good way. He is very funny and likes to do goofy things that make us laugh. He is a good example for his kids and mine and he is a great dad, just like our dad is. Dad, my daddy...I get very emotional these days when I think of my parents. My dad has always put his family before himself. Growing up, I just thought that was how fathers were. After getting married, I was shocked to find out that isn't always the case. I don't know how I was so blessed to get my dad for my father. One thing that always sticks out in my mind is that my dad has always treated people the same. He shows the same respect for people I would consider scary or possibly crazy (and not in a good way) as he did for distinguished people. I miss being able to see him everyday like I did growing up. Once every couple of months just doesn't quite measure up.

Speaking of birthdays, I have two in January as well, but mine are a little later in the month. As I type this, Nathan and Zachary are both six. They like to call themselves twins during this little overlap in their ages each year. Zachary (my baby) turned six on Tuesday (1/13). Nathan will turn seven on Monday (1/19). Nathan and Zachary really are similar to twins in a lot of ways and people mistake them for twins all the time. They have always had this extremely close bond that I can't quite explain. I love to watch them when they are asleep. Often they are lying there with their arms around each other. It is so cute! I will miss that when they get older. Zachary is the bigger of the two which is funny since he was a preemie. He used to be this tiny, fragile, little thing who had an extended stay in the hospital after he was born. Now he is one big kid. It is hard to believe that my babies are all growing up so fast.

Work. Hmmm....well, one of my New Year's resolutions this year was to be home from work no later than 7:00 p.m. each night. So far, I have done that (but just barely). I really love teaching my little kindergarteners. They are the cutest little things and I love them all. That said, teaching kindergarten is a lot of work. I have taught language arts at the junior high level and self contained classes for grades 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, and K and have found that the amount of work involved increases exponentially the lower the grade is that I teach. However, it is worth it just to know you have touched their lives for the better and to watch them grow. Yesterday was one of my little girl's last day in my class. Her dad doesn't have a job (stupid recession) and they have to move away to Globe to live with relatives. She is just the sweetest little girl! I will miss her so much! Yesterday she was telling me how her feet were hurting her and I told her to take off her shoe so I could see. I thought she had hurt her foot. Her shoes were just too small and they were cutting into the back of her feet. She has very nice parents and she is well cared for and happy, but with no job, I know that they are not able to buy her shoes. I told one of my teacher friends about her and she pitched in some money to help with my plan. After school, I ran to Kmart and picked up a new pair of shoes for her. It was meant to be! She LOVES Hannah Montana. They had Hannah Montana tennis shoes AND they were on sale at an amazing price with one pair left that would fit her. I was so excited! I dropped them off at her house and she was really happy, but she started crying when I went to leave. Ugh! It was hard for me not to cry. I have a friend from high school who teaches kindergarten in Globe and she is a very nice lady. I hope my little sweetie is in her class.

Well, I guess I better get myself ready to get going here today. Erica, her friend Cassie, and I have a day trip planned today and we need to get going. It should be fun.