Joys for the week ending 3/28

 It’s been an interesting week, but I still found joys! 

1. Sitting on the deck!

2. Hearing the birds chirping in the morning!

3. It’s light out again while driving to work! 

4. My mom’s birthday! 

Is Joy a choice? and My joys ending the week of March 21st

 Is joy a choice? I was asked this question this week. Not by someone who was searching for joy, but by someone who strives to find it everyday. I thought for a moment, and said "Yes" it is. We all know people who are persistently negative. They only write negative things on facebook or other social media platforms. I was very close to being that person this week many times, but deleted my posts every time. Not because I wanted to hide the fact that I was having a hard week but because I have other avenues to deal with the hard things that come up and I have chosen to not use Facebook as the tool to get rid of those feelings. I don't mind when people do that though, I actually try to send some positivity their way in hope that it helps them turn things around. If I have some valuable insight into their struggles, I will also private message them. This week, however, when I was having some struggles, I simply snoozed a few of those people. I've been at my joy journey long enough that I know when toxic things can destroy my ability to find joy. I have to take care of my mental state first.

This week was hard. It has been an emotional week for teachers. One year since the shutdown, and new guidelines coming out daily. Just when I'm feeling like I'm doing alright with how things are, they change. That can be hard. Couple that with one year ago, teachers were heroes and now we are targets by so many. Even people I am close with have been bashing teachers, and my area of teaching in particular. I am human and it hurts. I love teaching, and I love music. It is an essential part of me, so why bash it? It  hurts me. Then I realized it is because they are frustrated and can't find their joy maybe. I remember how that feels. I remember being absolutely miserable and not feeling like my life was going anywhere. I still have moments like that. After this week, on Friday evening, I lost it, and lost it big. I was angry, I was sad, and I was done. Poor Mark got the brunt of it, but fortunately he sees it as his job as my husband and partner to help me work through these things and I do the same for him. I am so grateful for him. 

So is joy a choice?.... YES! and I strive to choose it everyday. It makes me a better person for myself and others. 

Joys for this week

1. Mark- he just listens and loves me.

2. The beautiful sunshine

3. The birds chirping in the morning. -Spring is here!

4. Puppy kisses in the morning!

Joys of the week ending March 14th and some extra thoughts a year later

 I have been using the #Findyourjoy mantra for almost 5 years. I can't believe that really, but it's true. It has gotten me through cancer and the treatment, the permanent damage from the treatment, Mark's stroke and his subsequent health issues, but most recently it has gotten me through this last year.

This has been a learning year, I'm not going to say it was bad or horrible, because the whole time wasn't bad or horrible. Granted, I had had a lot of practice at finding joy before this happened and that certainly does not mean it gets easier, but I can lean faster into the joyful things that do happen or I can at least find something or someone who can help me move in that direction. 

Anyway, as mark and I were talking last night about how we felt a year ago. Did we go to the store and stock up? Did we endlessly watch the news? Were we scared or nervous? Honestly... we couldn't remember. The first things I remember was going to school to hand out packets, then going to school to sit outside at a computer to get the files I needed, and finally getting 15 minutes in the school to grab any necessary materials I would need to teach from home. Then I got to work and taught from home. It was hard. It was eye-opening. It made me think about my teaching which was a good thing in my eyes. If I'm not trying to improve then I should be done. 

Being home (even though it was hard) was a huge blessing. I was able to see into Mark's day. See first- hand his good days and bad days. This time also provided a big blessing. Mark was awarded full disability after a three year wait. We were fine on one income(we did change a lot of things to make that happen), but this gave us some breathing room. 

My biggest regret was that I stopped sharing for awhile. Once I had taken people through the initial steps of finding your joy, I stopped. I stopped because I wasn't experiencing what I saw others experiencing through the shutdown. Some were from the tv and social media, but some were the struggles I saw immediate friends and family members going through. I didn't want to seem like I was bragging or boasting because I was still finding my joy. 

With no commute to work (just to my home office) I was able to sit on the deck and linger a bit over a cup of coffee. I was able to take a lunch break and sit and talk to Mark. I was able to clean my house, and do some organizing I had put off. I was content being at home. I was safe being at home. I was with Mark. I didn't see Paige and Jared for quite awhile but we face-timed almost every day. 

I had someone ask me why I had stopped blogging. Honestly I wasn't really sure how many people read my blog. So I had to do some soul searching and decided that if I shared my joys maybe that would help others find theirs. 

What have I learned? On a basic level, I was a very busy person. I liked not being so busy this last year. It gave me time for things I didn't know I was missing. 

Yesterday, a friend from college sent me a surprise package in the mail. It contained a keychain, notepads, and pens that say #Findyourjoy. What a lovely gift. It also contained a note from her. She has also been through some health struggles in the past and has loved embracing #Findyourjoy. I was humbled and I cried. Thank you Elizabeth for the thoughtful gift. 

So... here are my joys for the week

1. Mark is fully vaccinated

2. His almost 91 year old Grandmother is too. 

3. I got up early every day this week and spent time on my yoga mat before work. It made a big difference in my day.

4. Paige was able to visit for a few days. She brought her two dogs and all four dogs played so well. It made Mark smile and that makes me smile!

#Findyourjoy

Joys ending the week of March 7th and staying in the moment

 So, before I list my joys for the week, I need to write about a struggle I've had this week. It's thinking too far ahead and not living in the moment.

This has always been a struggle for me. I'm a planner. What i find though, is sometimes I am worrying about planning and thinking so far ahead, that I'm missing living in the moment. I need to slow down and create moments and just live in them. 

I am admitting right here, that I haven't been on my yoga mat for awhile. I had all sorts of excuses for it too. I LOVE to do yoga outside on my deck and obviously I can't do that in the winter so that was my main excuse.  I wasn't moving my body and I felt terrible. 

Today... I got on my yoga mat and stretched and then just rested and I breathed. It was amazing. 

Back to that as a priority for sure! 

Here are my Joys

1. Mark is scheduled for his vaccine tomorrow!! What a relief.

2. I had someone message me to tell me that my dad gave them their vaccine the other day. I am so proud of my dad. He is a retired nurse, and they asked him to come out of retirement to volunteer to give shots. He's a keeper!

3. Our puppy Remington is doing well. Still hasn't always mastered going potty outside, but certainly getting there.

4. I got on my yoga mat today and spent some time just stretching and breathing. 

It's going to be a great week in the weather department so #Findyourjoy

Joys for the week ending February 28th

 Wow! Today is the last day of February! Tomorrow is March 1st! 

On the news shows this morning, many are talking about the anniversary of the shutdown coming up.  I have a lot to reflect on with that....so in a couple of weeks I will do a separate post on that only. 

It's been a good week. Back to school after the break. It was nice to get into a routine again nice and refreshed. 

Here are my joys for the week.

1. Mark had a good week. He (with the help of Nate....and little Remington too) put in a new garbage disposal. Being able to do those things makes him feel good. Remington kept trying to crawl under the sink with him, and at one point stole his screwdriver and tried to drag his hammer away! He laughed and smiled when he was telling me about it.

2. I had a good week too. I got all of my assignments up for the week on Wednesday(first time ever), and I didn't have to do any school work at home this weekend.

3. Nate, Mark and I played Trivial Pursuit last night. Nate and I read all of the questions as that is difficult for Mark, but he remembers things so well (especially history).... and HE WON! He felt really good about that too!

These are little things that have really uplifted Mark's spirit this week... so even the littlest thing can bring Joy. Don't overlook them... Find them!

Have a good week and #Findyourjoy

Joys ending February 21, 2021

 This week has flown by! Probably because it was a break week. I'm ready to go back and get into a schedule again. This also means that the next break is Easter and it'll be warmer! I'm ready for that too. Warmer weather, longer days, and more sunshine.

Here's my Joys for the week

1. A restful break. We did what we wanted when we wanted. It was lovely

2. Mark had an ok week. He gets better every day. I think getting him to the endocrinologist will help immensely and so will warmer weather and longer days with sunshine.

3. I've been keeping to my budget. I'm very proud of that.

4. Remington and Jaeger are doing amazingly together. Mark smiles when he is playing with them and that makes me smile.

We're almost to Spring(less than a month now).... Hang in there and #Findyourjoy

What's on my mind?

 I love how Facebook asks "What's on your mind, Kim?" Well, I have a lot on my mind today....more than just a quick facebook post so I thought I'd write it here.

I am on February break this week. It's been a nice week. I get up when my body says it's time(or the puppy does! lol!), I have coffee in my pajamas, and watch the Today show. I have seen many multiple news reports on the affects of the pandemic on students and the call and need to get students back to school and how getting teachers vaccinated will help with that. 

I agree on quite a few of the points given, but there is one huge thing that is not being talked about.  How are educators going to take ALL of the lessons learned from this pandemic and remote learning and hybrid learning etc.,  and make a necessitated change to how we educate students in America? 

Teachers are creative, Many develop and deliver amazing lessons that are engaging. Teachers had to take that skill and turn it up a few notches during this time. Now we are facing more educational gaps than ever upon returning to "normal".  So, how do we address those gaps?

I believe that we need to look at each student individually, their skill set, and purposefully target those deficiencies. It's almost like having each student having an IEP. Students with and without disabilities, because let's face it.... all students will have some deficiencies coming out of this. 

Or

Do we "reset" the grade level expectations? 

Do we need grade level expectations? 

Do we need individual student expectations? 

Here's where the problem lies. Schools have been working on a "age-level" cohort model for a long time. This pandemic and the toll on education should make us all realize that we are failing our students if we do not take them where they are at and move them through their educational years based on their skill set, needs, and interests. 

How do you figure out where a students is at?

How do you schedule that sort of thing throughout the day?

What about "extra" classes (BTW- I hate that term.... I am not extra or exploratory(everything is exploratory)). I AM ESSENTIAL! Not to every kid, but to many. 

Come on educators..... let's do what we want our students to do... THINK! Let's make up those "gaps". Let's make education a priority. Let's treat all classes as equal. Let's get the students involved in their education, and let's make it appropriate for each individual where they are at and help each student reach their utmost potential. 

I have a lot of ideas on this and may write again on it soon, but that's it for now. 

#Findyourjoy