Snow!!!

Wow! It almost feels like I'm living up in Welches again... This week, Portland has gotten more snow than it's had in the entire two and a half years I've lived here! Which means... early release (with pay) from work two days last week and work cancelled (with pay) ALL WEEK this week! I don't have to go back to work until January 5th, but I'll get my full paychecks the WHOLE TIME! Can you tell I'm excited about this? Here are some pics of the snow from the walk Abby and I took this morning... it's gorgeous!

The stairs leading up from my apartment this morning... and that's AFTER

I cleared them of snow last night before going to bed!

Powerline Park... our closest place to run and play. Last night, I dropped my cell phone somewhere in this winter wonderland. Two boys heard it ringing, answered it, and

followed Megan's directions to bring it to my apartment and return it!

Thank goodness for the generosity of strangers...

This is the view from my bedroom window...

The tree limbs are covered in ice... and some of them are having a hard time dealing with it.

Abby loves the snow! She runs around like a little kid. Unfortunately, she scraped her poor little paw on some ice shards... she's recovering nicely, though... lots of TLC! :)

Things I'm Thankful For...

• My parents, who have always loved me and supported me despite all the crap I've put them through.
• My first love, Adam... I'll never forget what it felt like to be loved for who I am. I know I'll find that again someday.
• The children in my class - they are so small and vulnerable, yet they radiate joy and trust. They remind me of the things that really matter in life.
• The parents of the children in my class, for trusting me with their most important treasures every day.
• Megan O, my best friend and the sister I never had, for loving me through the ups and the downs. Here's to a bright future together, raising our kids and playing in the sunshine and making art and... well, you know.
• Nike, for respecting teachers and paying us accordingly.
• All my amazing friends, near and far... and the technology that helps us keep in touch, even in the midst of our busy lives.
• My dog Abby Lou... she's the best hiking buddy a girl could ever ask for and she's worth all the shoes she's chewed up over the years.
• My co-teachers and suitemates, who make it a joy to wake up and go to work every day.
• Portland, Oregon... finally a place that feels like home.
• Music... my lifeblood... when I can't find the words, I can always find a song to express how I feel.
• Barack Obama, who helped me rediscover the part of myself that cares about where our nation is headed.
• Landmark Education. I really wouldn't be who I am today without a three-day course called the Landmark Forum.
• Art... which comes in many forms, and hides inside all of us.
• The people who take the time to smile as they pass me on the sidewalk each day.
• Freedom and love and joy and celebrations and diversity and friends and family and heartache and trust and all the other things that make us human.
• I'm grateful for every day in this beautiful Universe!

Teachers...

I've been thinking about this poem I love by Taylor Mali, an amazing school teacher and poet... it perfectly describes the magic of teaching, in an eff-you-for-ever-undervaluing-teachers-in-the-first-place kind of way. And yes... it contains a few naughty words.

Taylor Mali is an incredible spoken-word poet who has left his mark on poetry slams across the nation. Truly, this poem is best when it's heard aloud... so as you read, try to imagine it being recited aloud with a note of bitterness and a heavy dose of inspiration. Better yet, check out Taylor reciting the poem here.

What Teachers Make

He says the problem with teachers is,
"What's a kid going to learn from someone
who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"

He reminds the other dinner guests that it's true what they say about teachers:
Those who can, do; those who can't, teach.

I decide to bite my tongue instead of his
and resist the temptation to remind the dinner guests
that it's also true what they say about lawyers.

Because we're eating, after all, and this is polite company.

"I mean, you’re a teacher, Taylor," he says. "Be honest. What do you make?"

And I wish he hadn't done that (asked me to be honest) because, you see,
I have a policy about honesty and ass-kicking:
if you ask for it, I have to let you have it.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional medal of honor
and an A- feel like a slap in the face.
"How dare you waste my time with anything less than your very best!"

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall in absolute silence.
"No, you may not work in groups."
"No, you may not ask a question."
"Why won't I let you get a drink of water? Because you're not thirsty, you're bored, that's why."

I make parents tremble in fear when I call home:
"I hope I haven't called at a bad time,
I just wanted to talk to you about something Billy said today."
Billy said, "Leave the kid alone. I still cry sometimes, don't you?"
And it was the noblest act of courage I have ever seen.

I make parents see their children for who they are and what they can be.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids wonder, I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write.
I make them read, read, read.
I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful
over and over and over again until they will never misspell either one of those words again.
I make them show all their work in math.
And hide it on their final drafts in English.

I make them understand that if you got this (brains) then you follow this (heart)
and if someone ever tries to judge you by what you make, you give them this (the finger).

Let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true:
I make a goddamn difference! What about you?

Deadlines and Sewing Machines and Cheapskates, Oh My...

Don't you hate when you have a last-minute project with an upcoming deadline and everything's rolling along fine until... your sewing machine breaks... the night before... at 9:00 pm...

So my co-teachers and I are going to have to get creative with the Dream Flags that the parents in our classroom are supposed to be decorating for their babies at tomorrow evening's Back-to-School Night celebration.

That'll teach me for buying an ultra-cheap-o sewing machine last year. I may not sew very much... but when I do sew, I need the darn thing to work!

And of course, there's absolutely NO chance this is operator error... wink, wink.

Packing... and children... and selling out... and freedom

I've been packing my things all day. My new job at Nike has inspired me to make the big move across town to Beaverton. That's right... Beaverton. The "not-Portland" of Portland, Oregon. That little voice in my head (you know, the one that used to run my life before I got wise to it's presence) keeps whispering "You've done it Amy... you've sold your soul." After all, I'm working for a HUGE corporation and moving to Beaverton.

But here's the interesting thing: I'm really excited about the changes that are happening in my life right now.

Until this year, life always looked like a series of choices between two extremes: black or white, chocolate or vanilla, marriage or freedom, sell-out corporate job or lifetime of poverty.

Then I grew up... somehow, when I wasn't really paying attention, I grew up. And now I look at things a little differently.

You see, I used to think those choices defined who I was, so each choice was a really, really big deal.

But in the past year or so, I've found this "me" person inside... and she's there all the time... through all the choices... wherever I go. Defining her isn't so simple anymore. She exists all on her own, fully formed.

Some of the choices I make fit her like a well-worn sweater pulled out of the closet on cold winter mornings, while others are a bit scratchy and tight through the shoulders. But she's still there, intact, the whole time.

Now I have the freedom to "try on" lots of different choices and see how they feel. I don't have to worry about losing myself in the transitions... I couldn't do it if I tried... I'm in there, through thick and thin. And I don't feel any pressure to define myself "correctly." I realize now that was always for other people's benefit, anyway... and it doesn't seem too important these days.

So I spent the day packing... and the whole time I listened to the kids laughing and playing outside my apartment window. And it made me smile. Those kids, they're onto something...