Day 5 - emptying

This is a view from an apartment window where we were working today. I helped to clean out what was left behind so that the owner can redo the apartment. Not so long ago we were doing the same thing with a house that had been sold. It's interesting, and sometimes sad, to see what people walk away from: family Christmas ornaments, photos, documents, clothes, shoes, games, cleaning supplies, but never the toilet paper.
It was a process of emptying what was left of the prior occupants in preparation for the new ones. I know this process all too well, we have had five addresses in a span of six years. Today, looking out the window at this view for a few brief moments truly made me think about what matters most, and it wasn't so much the stuff. Maybe it's time to make my home reflect that even more.

Day 4 - inadequacies

Some days are a battle fighting off feelings of long ago. Today is one of those days, where I'm left feeling lost and inadequate. They are less frequent than before, and I know why the struggles come today, but it doesn't help them pass any faster. So today it is off for a ride with the radio's volume slowly sneaking up louder and louder. It's enjoying the sunshine peeking through the Michigan gray. It's the hope of better tomorrows.

Day 3 - lazy mornings

Unexpected surprises - his dad let him come home for a few extra days over winter break. We've spent the morning just enjoying each other's company, and he's been enjoying his time catching up on favorite shows on the new technology.

Day 2 - Winter Break

It's winter break, another time of year when some choose to say how great teachers have it with all of this time off. I wonder how many of those people take hours and hours of work home with them. Today's "winter break" challenge is to read through hundreds of papers, grade them, make comments on them, and evaluate them to see where we need to go next. The best part of teaching is looking to see where students are at, make some decisions, and find ways to move them ahead even more. It makes for some huge transformations by the end of the school year.

Day 1 - day after Christmas

Photo a day challenge

Day 1 - the day after Christmas

The last few days have been filled with love, laughter, and joy, and now our home is filled with an eerie quietness as the boys are off celebrating elsewhere.

The laundry is done (their dirty socks a simple reminder that they will return soon enough), and it's time to find motivation and to get moving. This begins with a shower. Merry day after.