me walk pretty

for those of you who are not aware- I am not what most would call "coordinated." I have, for many years, tried to mask this fact and may have succeeded partially. But this meager success came to a grinding halt on Thursday, Jan. 15. That morning, during my first period English class, I tripped over not one, but two bookbags, fell flat on my back, and wound up with a broken bone in my elbow! My students were great and did not disolve into laughter until I assured them that I was fine. I finished first period, tried to work out the pain in my wrist and arm during second period planning, went to the nurse for tylenol at the beginning of third period and thought she was being overly cautious when she told me she thought something was broken. By the end of third period, when my students told me that my swollen elbow was the grossest thing they had even seen, I figured I should call my dadddy and tell him what I had done. He called the radiologist to let them know I was coming so I found another teacher to cover my fifth and sixth periods and I left at lunch. I had to call my sweet friend Mary to come pick me up from school because it is hard to shift gears in a manual drive car when you can't move your right arm! The radiologist gave me a clean read but Friday morning I woke up with an elbow the size of a baseball and still could barely move my arm, so to the orthopedist I went. He told me that I did have a break in my radial neck and gave me a sling to keep me from using my right arm and to stabilize my elbow. So, now I am on week three of my six weeks wearing my sling and I will be so happy when I don't have to wear it anymore!

The next time you are in a classroom, beware of the bookbags- they can be a health risk!

a life well lived

two weeks ago, on Jan.14, my wonderful grandaddy died. he was 84 years old and had been married to my sweet grandmother for 65 years. i can't imagine living for 65 years, not to mention living with the same person, loving him for 65 years. they are both such a model for my cousins and me of sacrificial love and true devotion to Jesus. My grandaddy was gentle and soft spoken, he had a wonderful sense of humor and a mischievous glint in his eye when he was teasing someone. he was intelligent and wise and a leader of his family and in his church. i will miss him sneaking me a creme drop under the table at Thanksgiving dinner and his constant questions about what was going on in my classroom- always wanting to know if my kids were learning and urging me to be strict yet fair. i am a much better person for knowing and being loved by him.

looking for resolve...

in keeping with tradition at this time of year (the beginning) I have been pondering resolutions that I might make for 2009. Like many people I hold mixed feeling on the whole new year's resolutions phenomenon- why make one if no one keeps them? what qualifies a resolution? must you resolve to do something or can you resolve not to do something? what differentiates this resolution from the whole "I'm giving something up for Lent" deal that people will go through in March? There are many many things that I need to work on in my life. I could resolve to listen better; read more; not talk as much; love others well; wear my retainer more; spend more time in prayer... and the list continues!

But, after taking an informal poll on other's resolutions, and after much thought, I have resolved to try. Yep. Try. I'm not exactly sure what this will look like or what type of trouble this will lead me into...I'll keep you posted!

In "Star Wars," Yoda says,"There is no try, only do." I'm not sure I agree. For this year (or at least the next week) I am going to try.

Good Luck with your own resolutions in this fresh, new year. Won't it be cool to see what comes next?