I truly believe the Lord knows we need guidance, so he sends us angels. My sweet mother is mine.
Tomorrow marks the 26th year of her passing, although her passing is really alive in my life everyday. I only got to share three years on earth with her--she passed when I was three, due to complications of epilepsy. I enjoyed hearing stories about her, with personal favorites recanting her laughter, dedication to people, and her sincere love for her family. I learned a few things about my mother just by her earthly treasures of mine, her thriftiness (amazing how much things cost back in the eighties), her deep empathy and compassion for people (journaled a story about me falling off the porch when I was a baby and hitting my head) and her laid back personality. She never met a stranger, and was always eager to flash a smile.
Although I never really got to have my mother in my life physically, she was always at my events. On my wedding day, Derrick went to her grave (we married at Bethesda Cumberland Presbyterian Church where she was buried) and placed a flower and a thank you card on her grave after talking to her. She gave us her blessing by showering a small rainfall.
She became a Nana on April 11, 2003, and then two more times blessing her with three beautiful grandchildren. I know she would have been so proud of her grandchildren. Emily was named "Rose" after her.
She was also at my high school and college graduations, and is with us always. I truly hope I'm half the mother she was to me. She never left my side, nor my heart.
Thank you, Mother, for giving me life, and for blessing me, protecting me, and loving me always. I will never forget you, and hope to see you one day in Heaven.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
My Kindergarten First Love
To tell you the truth, I didn't plan on going back to work next week, or the next, or the next. I was supposed to be in Conway tomorrow, starting Teacher Boot Camp. I really am starting to hate working at the daycare!
Life's unexpected little surprise--one, we really didn't have the money for being a one-income family from having a joiner one. I would have needed gas to and from Conway, and Derrick's commute and then to pay for three kids in daycare and bills on top of that.
What really bums me out about the whole thing is that the NTLP gave me five weeks to find a job after I got in and that I made it to the final interview with LRPA to only get rejected while waiting on a promised fax at the Office of Teacher Quality way past their office hours. Was it my pushiness that caused me my dream?
Rejection hurts, especially when your dream, or in my case, too, Kindergarten First Love, is crushed. I envisioned my classroom full of Kindergarteners with word labels posted everywhere, the smell of Crayolas and playdough lurking, colorful pictures of flowers and garden scenery, and children pulling colored clothespins off a posterboard, running and playing in their designated centers. This was a dream job I found myself retiring from when I was like, seventy!
I really felt like my Kindergarten First Love and I could have made it work, but not at that particular school, at that particular time. I would have had to share a position with another teacher, in an AWFUL neighborhood--one ran out of an old church building in Little Rock where the pastor's face is etched on the sign and blue lettering falling off the building. God truly knows what he is doing, and I KNOW my classroom full of Kindergarteners are out there, SOMEWHERE! They need their Mrs. Koon and Koondergarden. :)
Okay, now I will let this go. Chenal Elementary needs me. I need them. My student needs me. I need him. So very blessed to be a part of this AWESOME, talented team of teachers, staff, and students. They believe in me, and I know I am so loved. What a blessing to be among a great group and especially with my girls. I truly see the bigger picture!
Thanks, Lord, for the Life Surprise and one day reuniting me with my Kindergarten First Love!
Life's unexpected little surprise--one, we really didn't have the money for being a one-income family from having a joiner one. I would have needed gas to and from Conway, and Derrick's commute and then to pay for three kids in daycare and bills on top of that.
What really bums me out about the whole thing is that the NTLP gave me five weeks to find a job after I got in and that I made it to the final interview with LRPA to only get rejected while waiting on a promised fax at the Office of Teacher Quality way past their office hours. Was it my pushiness that caused me my dream?
Rejection hurts, especially when your dream, or in my case, too, Kindergarten First Love, is crushed. I envisioned my classroom full of Kindergarteners with word labels posted everywhere, the smell of Crayolas and playdough lurking, colorful pictures of flowers and garden scenery, and children pulling colored clothespins off a posterboard, running and playing in their designated centers. This was a dream job I found myself retiring from when I was like, seventy!
I really felt like my Kindergarten First Love and I could have made it work, but not at that particular school, at that particular time. I would have had to share a position with another teacher, in an AWFUL neighborhood--one ran out of an old church building in Little Rock where the pastor's face is etched on the sign and blue lettering falling off the building. God truly knows what he is doing, and I KNOW my classroom full of Kindergarteners are out there, SOMEWHERE! They need their Mrs. Koon and Koondergarden. :)
Okay, now I will let this go. Chenal Elementary needs me. I need them. My student needs me. I need him. So very blessed to be a part of this AWESOME, talented team of teachers, staff, and students. They believe in me, and I know I am so loved. What a blessing to be among a great group and especially with my girls. I truly see the bigger picture!
Thanks, Lord, for the Life Surprise and one day reuniting me with my Kindergarten First Love!
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