25 Years and Still Counting!

Last night my mom was recognized for 25 years of teaching for the Richland School District and Trevor and I were there to take pictures and give flowers, just like any proud children would do. In total, she has actually taught for 40 years, which just seems unbelievable to me but is nonetheless true. Check my mother out...


...they gave her this beautiful painting for her years of service. Apparantly at 30 years you get an even bigger painting and at 35 years you get an even bigger, bigger one. I am assuming that at 40 years they will come and paint a mural in your house.

Outside of the whole teaching thing, though, last night got me thinking about my mom and about her ability to survive and persevere. The truth is, 25 years ago my mother packed up her three kids, her furniture, and some boxes of stuff into a U-Haul and left behind the town that marked the end of her marriage to my father. This move was a huge risk. She knew nobody in Richland and had not taught high shool for a little over five years. My mom has often said this was the best move of her life. She raised her kids with peace, established lifelong friendships, and continues to make an impact teaching teenagers a little bit of Spanish. In fact, wherever we go in the Tri-Cities, we run into at least one person who once sat in her classroom and my mother usually remembers their Spanish name. Yes, my mother is indeed amazing.

I am just glad that for once I got to cheer my mother on, as she has always been my number one cheerleader. Here's to my mom...Go, mama, go!

Reunited, And It Feels So Good!!!

A little less than a year ago, as Trevor and I embarked on our honeymoon in Greece, we had no inkling of the friendships we would begin to forge with a group of Tenneseeans who happened to be on the same Grecian tour. For both Trevor and I, this group became our saving grace as the vast majority of the people on the tour turned out to be old, grumpy, cantakerous complainers. This weekend, Candace and Kelly -two of the initial group of six - flew out to Seattle to experience the Pacific Northwest, and let me just say for the record, we had the BEST time. We went to a Mariners' game, walked for hours around the city, and drove to Anacortes to catch the ferry to experience the San Juan Islands. Best of all, we laughed for hours (literally), we ate an enourmous amount of food (literally), and we engaged in inspiring conversations on an array of topics (most of which shall remain nameless).

While we left Greece last July hoping to keep in touch, this weekend proved you truly can make friends wherever you go. Here is to the start of a beautiful friendship...

What I Know For Sure...

Let me preface this blog by saying that I am not in the best place today. I am exhausted beyond all belief, I am so stressed out I am breaking out with cold sores, and yesterday my mom scared the living snot out of me when she called to say she was hooked up to an EKG machine because she almost fainted at school.

In short, I am a grump pile today, and then this happened...

I was on my way to work this morning, listening to my usual radio station of choice, when the conversation changed to the results of "American Idol" last night. The DJs were all very angry that Adam did not win (um, I ditto that) and they were taking callers to give their opinions on the matter. Here is what the snooty, snoot-head woman with an Australian accent said, "If you are going to post pictures on your MySpace page of your unclean lifestyle, then you are going to lose." What she really meant to say was, "If you are gay, you are going to lose."

Now, I am very aware of this particular outlook on the world - you know, the one ignited by fear and hate - but I still feel as if I must respond in the way I know how (i.e. writing on my blog). After all, if I don't, then I am no better than the hate-spewers themselves. Those who know me know that I do not see life in terms of right or wrong, good or evil, or even black or white, but there is one area of humanhood that I simply will not negotitate on, which leads me to this -

What I know FOR SURE is that HATE, my friends, is the one "sin" that leads to all others.

So perhaps - just perhaps - before any of us make the decision to label anything or anyone "right," "wrong," "good," "evil," "clean," or "unclean," we should ask ourselves what sort of lasting impression we want to leave on this planet.

After all, nobody will remember you for your so-called righteousness.

What people will remember is how GOOD you were to others, irregardless of your judgments about what people do or don't do with their lives. And hopefully, most of all, what people will remember about you is your GRACE.

If that's what others remember about me, then I will know I have lived well.

I know that FOR SURE too.

Confessions from an Idol-holic

I have a confession to make. I am obsessed with Adam Lambert, and while there is a part of me that is mortified to admit this, there is another part of me that thinks I should just embrace it. So here I am, "embracing" it.

Yes, my friends, I am a 31-year-old professional who #1, gets nervous every time Adam sings and #2, yells at her television when the judges say something she doesn't agree with. Worse yet, I am starting to dream about him. I won't go into details, but let's just say that sometimes these dreams involve Trevor and sometimes they involve me. I'll let your imagination run wild with that one.

The bottom line is, I'm a little concerned.

Okay, I'm more than concerned.

I know, I know. I have a real problem. But don't they always say that the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one in the first place?

So I admit it. I love Adam Lambert. And if my dreams are at all accurate, Adam Lambert sure loves me. Oh, yes, and Trevor, too.

Deep Thoughts from High School Students, Entry 2

So I decided to try something new this semester in my Chicano/Latino Literature class and I'm starting to think this "something new" backfired. I created a project and presentation that allowed students to research a Latino music artist or group hoping that #1, they would have fun learning and that #2, I could trick them into analyzing poetry under the guise of music, which all teenagers claim to be experts on anyway.

I know, GENIUS, right?

Well, apparantly not and I have good ol' Miguelito to thank for it.

Miguelito decided to research Shakira. I am sure this doesn't need to be said but Shakira is pretty much any 17-year-old boy's fantasy.

All was going well for the first two minutes. Miguelito presented wonderful information on Shakira's childhood, family background, her break into the music industry, her style of music, and her contributions to the Latino music industry. I must say, I was pretty damn impressed.

And then he clicked to the last slide of his Power Point and this is what I saw: "Last Interesting Fact: Shakira loves chocolate balls." Miguel read this slide with great pride and the rest of the class burst out laughing.

Meanwhile I said, "Miguel, did you really just say 'Shakira loves chocolate balls'"?

"Yes," Miguelito said. "That is very important to know."

God help us all.

Reflections of a Mother's Day past...

This past weekend we headed to Roslyn (what's up 'Northern Exposure'!) to meet up with my sister, her husband, my niece, and my mom at a rented cabin. This is what I learned:

1) When it comes to family, neutral territory is a good thing.

2) Fries dipped in mashed potatoes and gravy and Baked Cheddar Lays dipped in Melanie's mom's homemade mustard are TO DIE FOR.

3) When you lay in grass by a river, ticks will find you but you won't know it until...

4) ...the Croatian man at the town's only gift shop shouts "Don't move!" so he can remove the tick that is crawling on your sister's chest. No joke.

5) Hot tubs not filled with water do not work.

6) Swinging on swings never stops being fun.

7) Wading in lakes is usually made possible by uncles who don't mind getting dirty.

8) Mountain peaks with snow make fantastic backdrops for pictures.

9) Sword fights with sticks can inspire fantastic imaginings of Water Wizards. Just ask Ana. She'll tell you all about it.

10) Moms are ten times happier with gifts of time than with any other type of gift.

A Dream Realized

On Tuesday, Sandra Cisneros - the author of "The House on Mango Street" - came to our high school to give a talk for our students. Before I continue, let me make this very clear - I love Sandra Cisneros. Actually, I LOVE, LOVE Sandra Cisneros. While she has written many other books and poetry collections, I read "The House on Mango Street" many, many years ago and the bottom line is it just resonated with me. After all, how could a story about a young Latina girl fighting her culture's expectations of what a woman should be and how she should act NOT resonate with me? Been there, done that. Which is probably why when I was working on creating a Chicano/Latino Literature class over two years ago, I knew "The House on Mango Street" had to be part of the curriculum, and so it is. But the best part about Sandra Cisneros coming on Tuesday - in the end - had very little to do with me. Take a look at the picture below:

Sandra Cisneros is the one next to me. The other two girls were part of the group of first students to take Chicano/Latino Literature last semester and like me, they just got IT. When they both heard that Sandra Cisneros was coming, they could barely contain their excitement. I know, I know. Students getting excited over an author? Unbelievable, right? But it's true. So on Tuesday they sat there - along with the rest of my students - and listened to what she had to say. Afterwards, both of them went up to her to ask her questions. She was wonderful to them - she told them to keep in touch with her and she hugged them several times and even kissed both of them on their cheeks. They were completely beside themselves with joy.

As a teacher, there are so many times when I question whether I am doing a good job. I often wonder if I am really making a difference and if what I do on a daily basis actually MATTERS to anyone. Nobody ever tells you in your education classes that as a teacher, you will need to know how to cope with self-doubt because without this skill, you might as well toss in the hat now. Believe me, self-doubt in teaching can be a daily occurence.

And then there are days like Tuesday. As I sat back and watched my students enjoy and appreciate listening to Sandra Cisneros, and then literally bounce with excitement because she actually talked to them, I thought to myself, "Maybe, just maybe, I have done something right."

Corn on the Freakin' Cob!!!

Do not dwell on the fact that I look hideous in this picture. Instead, please take note of the corn that lies in front of my face. This corn was purchased for $2 at the Cinco de Mayo fesitivites this weekend and if I may, I would like to state that this was the best $2 I have spent in a long time. In fact, prior to this corn, I never imagined that $2 could purchase my own little taste of heaven, but oh, it did. This corn was boiled in a large pot of water in its husk. It was then de-husked, stabbed with a stick, lathered in butter, rolled in Mexican cotija cheese, and placed in my hand. My hand then shoved the corn into my mouth, at which point the skies opened up and the angels sang. In short, this corn made my day and I cannot stop thinking about it. All I can say is, this summer I am going to channel my inner-Mexican and there will be much corn slathered in butter and cheese and then subsequently consumed. Who would like to join me?