In the Year Twenty, Thirteen

In the year 2013 we will...what?  My hope is to crawl out from underneath some of our debts. We were blessed this year when I was assigned two long term jobs substitute teaching in the schools and enough daily jobs to help with finances. If you read my previous entry, then you know that last sub job was not a walk in the park. However, the income from the jobs, plus the generosity of my in-laws allowed us to selfishly gift each other with some new furniture this past Christmas.

Such was a welcome gift to begin 2013! Now for the rest of the year. Retired in 2007, I have had many work opportunities come my way through the God's mercy. Though none have panned out for regular employment, I am thankful to have been able to pad my retirement checks and help pay bills. The last two month long term job has ended and I am currently on a short break of sorts before I begin administering tests to Gifted and Talented candidates in elementary schools. Even though I tell myself I "deserve" this break, I feel guilty every day I do not go out to earn a paycheck. Kim works hard for us and I know God has blessed me with this man. So, it is my daily desire that I can help him with our joint efforts by doing my part.
(You may be asking yourself, "Why did you retire, Mary Lou?" I ask myself that question too. I will say that the last long term job reminded me of why I retired.)


This year I would like to see more active resolve in our financial problems. My thought has been that we should move, to downsize to a house with less monthly mortgage. One day I am completely convinced that this would save us. The next day, not so much and a wave of sadness rushes over me at the thought of moving from this place. Today I am of the mind to shop around on the internet for our next home. Tomorrow I'll pray for more work to come my way.

Once again for as long as I have been retired and before, it is at this time of year the money saga looms overhead. Sometimes I just hate money and all the problems it brings. Other days, I realize that money brings many resolutions to problems we go through. It was certainly a welcome surprise to receive a monetary gift so we could afford our new furniture. There is a bit of irritating irony in that thought because it is money that has me twisted in knots and money that will get me out of the entanglement.

2013 will likely rock along as any other year, over the ups and downs of life. There will be on this earth storms, fires, natural disasters, people starving, people dying, evil lurking around the corners, evil shooting innocents with no regard to life itself. I worry, fear, and long for the exhale of relief from so much wrong in my little part of the world. Yet, out in the bigger parts of the world I know there are tragedies of such magnitude were those to effect me personally, I would surely lie down and die. One day I praise God for his mercy and grace in my life as He sustains my days, providing me with all I need. The next day I hear of senseless shootings taking place in common places as a mall, a movie house, or the most unlikely of places for tragedy to strike, in elementary schools; I pray for my uncertainty of a God and pray that He does in fact watch over me and my family. Lord, give me strength!

My hope in 2013 is that there will be no evil person/s to use his/her unhappiness to punish innocent people, that the Lord God will petition the natural disasters on earth to be still and that I will finally breathe a sigh of relief over personal matters. In my anxiety about life's turmoil, I have to keep my eye focused on my Father and remember He exists and knows what I do not. He has seen the outcome of this life and I have only read about it. May God's mercies continue to bless our lives in 2013 and may we believe more fervently in the power of an Almighty Savior.

Work and Play

Kim as Elvis 11 in BLT's Tuna Does Vegas.

My blog writing has been on hold while I worked for an elementary school as a second grade teacher for the last two months. The two-month job overlapped with several plays and theater activities for Kim all of which resulted in our days being long and tiring. We volunteer and work for our pleasures, fulfillment and satisfactions. Although, before we have those good feelings of accomplishment, we seem to suffer a little.

During the same time period as my long-term sub job, Kim’s 9^th grade students rehearsed and produced several short Christmas plays at the high school. He was also working for a local church on their Christmas pageant by coaching the actors and blocking the scenes. All the while Kim was trying to memorize his lines for Tuna Does Vegas, the New Year’s Eve special at the Baytown Little Theater, which opened to a packed theater on Monday, December 31, 2012.

The weekend the Church pageant opened also included Saturday rehearsals for both the school plays and Tuna. Kim didn’t get a lot of rest that weekend and developed a nasty cough. Fortunately, after a visit to his doctor and three prescription drugs, he was able to carry on. Of course, it didn’t help his personal drama with all the plays he was working on to hear me tell about my stress filled days with the 7 & 8 year olds I was dealing with daily at the elementary school.

The teaching gig for me began when the school secretary called me the last week in October to ask if I could work a long-term sub job in a second grade class.  She explained that the teacher as on maternity leave and the substitute that was in the class was relocating to another city. My job began one day before Halloween and ended four days before Christmas. As you have surely figured out, I was with the children through the aftermath of Trick or Treating, Thanksgiving vacation, Christmas special activities and party, plus a field trip into the city to see a play. There was nothing easy about this job.

Even though I taught second grade for more than a decade in addition to other grade levels during my career of 30 years, jumping back into the grind of daily lessons, bus duties, 20 minute lunches and team meetings did not come as easily for this retired teacher as I had hoped. The teaching techniques, resources and conditions under which I was hired made it difficult to simply pick up where the last sub left off. The teacher’s leave had been extended twice before I came and three other substitutes preceded my arrival. My part of the job began in the middle of the semester halfway through the second six weeks grading period. The other capable substitute teachers, unfortunately, were not certified, experienced classroom teachers. The second grade students were high maintenance given the fact that they were now on their 4^th substitute since the school year began. Factor in a few special needs students along with a handful of major behavior problems and this was one challenging group! To be precise there were two classes to whom I was to teach reading, language arts and social studies subjects. I shared two homerooms with another teacher who taught the math and science subjects. Even though, after the first week on the job, I wanted to quit, I knew I could not do that to the students again. Those students deserved some stability in their daily routines. They needed rules, daily routines and a safe learning environment. Although, I was not sure I the right teacher, I was the best they had for now.

So, I made it my mission to stick to the task until the school let out for the holidays. As much as I wanted to quit, I am proud to report that I stuck with it until the day the students got out for vacation. There is that good feeling of accomplishment I mentioned earlier, but the weeks before it were packed with much toil and angst.

This week Kim starts back to work teaching his theater classes at the high school and I am taking a short break from teaching school. In about three weeks, I will begin administering tests to elementary students nominated for the Gifted and Talented program in the schools. It is a job I have done for several years now and one I enjoy very much. The testing will keep me busy for a little more than a month. Then, who knows? I would love to work in an office with other women and be a permanent fixture there until who knows when. Kim will continue his busyness with school and theater as he usually does. I do believe, however, that after he closes Tuna Does Vegas, he will likely step backstage or in front of the stage directing as he enjoys other aspects of theater. Who knows? Perhaps he will play more audience roles in the future. We have both thoroughly enjoyed watching our sons on stage and sharing a night out in Houston experiencing theater in the city.

Our calendars are clearing out and we are at the time of this writing, down to performing Baytown Little Theater’s production of Tuna Does Vegas. Thankfully, this production is the last of our obligations for the season. BLT’s New Year’s Eve performance of Tuna went a lot smoother than either Kim or I expected. We are most happy that he learned his lines as well as he did and that the audiences applauded the portrayal of the Tuna, TX gang of characters. A weekend of three performances plus a Rotary Club gig of the show are all that remain, so we are busy through next weekend finishing the play, but at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

One thing is for sure; even though we survived the end of 2012, there will be another opening, another show in 2013. It is also for sure that we will suffer a bit for a lot of satisfaction in the end.  

I Am Thankful

Today the inbox of my Gmail account delivered the latest stats for this blog. The Sitemeter, for those of you who do not know, is a tracking system so bloggers like myself, can see how many people are reading our blogs. Apparently, it's time for me to compose a new post since my daily viewers added up to a big goose egg.

My excuse for not posting lately is that since Oct. 29, I have been teaching second graders again in a local elementary school. "What were you thinking?" you may ask. I thought that it was better pay than the one a day sub jobs I had been doing. The reality is that I had temporary amnesia and forgot all the hard work that a teacher puts in. I also forgot how my feet, ankles and knees would feel after walking up and down a very long hallway on hard tile floors. Ouch!

The two classes I teach for a half day each, has some dear little 7 and 8 year old students who are somewhat high-maintenance. There has been much to do in regard to establishing routines, discipline plans and control since I started the job. Even though my work hours on the schedule are 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., my real work hours are 7:30 a.m.-5:30 or 6:00 p.m. Once I get home, I relax a bit then fix dinner. After a meal, I am back at it reading and working on lessons to teach the class or grading papers. Then, I attempt to be in bed by 10:00 p.m. "Attempt" is a key word here. If I need to make copies for the class the next day, I try to get to school earlier than 7:30 to be the first on the machine. I have not been first yet. Happily, I am thankful for a 2:30 conference time when the children are not in class and I am allowed a bit of quiet time to reflect on the day and what I need to do for the next day.

This assignment has been a challenge for sure and I am totally exhausted when I get home each evening. It's good to know that I can still get in a classroom and teach the children. Although, I may not have taught them the scheduled reading theme or the social studies lesson for the week; I have established a discipline plan, rules with consequences and some routines. For me being back in the classroom has been a little like riding a bike. I remember how it works, but forgot how hard peddling uphill can be. Doable, but a strain at times.

On weekends I catch up on laundry, clean up the house, and do my grocery shopping with half of Baytown. Then, I do more work on school related tasks. The old red book bag comes home with me every day, including the weekend and I continue grading papers or preparing my lessons to teach. But I am no exception. Everyone who is employed and has a family is busy. It is a fact of a laborer's life and one that likely can not change. Of this, I am certain.

When I was a child, my mother had this unwritten rule; if you go out tonight, you do not go out tomorrow night. That is a rule I wish I could make my husband understand. He goes somewhere almost every night. Not that he is playing or going out to have fun every night, he is attending meetings, or rehearsals of some sort. There is a lot of work for him as a theater teacher, volunteer at our community theater and a worship leader at church. He is also very exhausted at the end of the day. We are both ready for the Thanksgiving break. Who wouldn't be?

Since it is Thanksgiving week, we will be on vacation relishing in our freedom from work. We are going to play with grandchildren, pay attention to our families, watch TV, relax and laugh. My intention is to not bring anything school related with me to the lake cabin where we'll be together with our family. This is going to be a great week for family fun!

Okay, so now you know where I've been and where I am going. After this week, I may be absent for another four weeks. You'll know when I'm back because you might hear the faint sound of crashing cymbals, or perhaps glimpse fireworks lighting up the skies or simply feel my happy vibes spreading across the air. That's how happy I'll be to be free of this long term sub assignment.

It would be wrong for me to complain about this job because I feel absolutely sure it came from God. I know this for fact because I prayed to the Holy Father for work. We needed better pay and I prayed daily that God would send a job my way. I was not thinking it had to be a teaching job, but I should not be choosy. God's ways are not my ways. I am grateful for my job. God has never failed to care of our needs as He has provided me with jobs, temporary, seasonal, small pay or not so good pay, He has cared for me. For this I am extremely thankful for all 7 weeks of this temp job, and also for the much needed funds it is affording me. God is good. Make no mistake of that! I will be fine because "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, God is with me."