Ok, so I am trapped at a ski lodge with limited internet...so why not blog? I have already Facebooked and Skyped and Tweeted. I was thinking on what might make a good hook for my blogging, then my phone lit up...my Dictionary app delivering the Word of the Day. I love words. Why not use one as a theme for my blogging? It's worth a short right? I think Mary from work would approve. It is very teachery of me to use a new word each day to guide my blogging efforts. Any child who has ever been in my class knows I love words. I harp on vocabulary and word choice all the time. So it seems the thing to try when trying to get myself interested in regular blogging. I almost typed "daily" just then...had to delete that...I don't want to commit to daily blogging...maybe weekly and for sure monthly. I am going to try to avoid the 8 month gap again. Mary would appreciate that. ;)
Ok so what glorious word did my Dictionary.com app deliver to me today?
Adventive - adjective - not native and usually not yet well established, as in exotic plants or animals
What the.... Ok, so maybe today was not the day to start my new blogging hook...
Well that is what I thought at first, then I remembered that I am a creative and insightful individual and I can make it work. So...adventive...not native...exotic. Being Puerto Rican is exotic right? I am not native to California, though most would find that surprising I think. I was born in Brooklyn, New York and have been in California since I was 5 years old. I consider myself native in the sentiment of the word if not literally. Not well established? Well that wouldn't describe me...I do consider myself to be pretty well established in a general sense. I am where I want to be in my profession, I am married, have a happy healthy son, have a home, a car, I enjoy my life on many levels, so yes I would consider myself established. So adventive is not a word I would use to describe me and seems the definition aims at it being an adjective for plants or animals. Hmmm...teacher mode here...how would I use that word in a sentence?
Polar bears are adventive in Southern California.
Not my best, but it will do. I could always switch to the Spanish Word of the Day....hmmm...then I would have to blog in Spanish...Oh my, the Spanish Word of the Day is:
claro - adjective - clear, obvious, light
There is no way I am blogging in Spanish, no matter what message Spanish Word of the Day is sending! Claro que si!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
It really has been too long!
Mary at work is great when it comes to my blog. Periodically she will ask me "When are you going to post next?" I smile and say "Soon." Well as I log back in to my blog and see that my last post was at the end of March, I have to chuckle. It really has been too long. I blame the National Boards. That took so much mental power and writing out of me, I just had to veg for months! But now that we are at the end of another year, and I am off work with time to myself I feel inclined to write.
One of the things hat has been on my mind this holiday season are societal expecations. As I get older I find I am less inclined to do much for the holidays. I am not completely sure why this is, but I do know this does not make me a bad person. I know I have a 7 year old son, and I don't deny him the festive fixings. He wants lights and decorations? We do lights and decorations...on a small scale. He picked out his very own lil tree and decorations, and we put it on an end table by our door. He was thrilled to do it, and it wasnt taxing for me...a win-win!
Then there is the craziness of shopping and holiday cards. Let me address shopping first. Any who know me know I LOVE TECHNOLOGY. I hate shopping. I hate crowds. Does that make me a scroodge? No. Due to finanaces I can only afford to get gifts for the kids in my family and my parents. Unfortunately the amount I can spend on each is not a huge, but I do what I can. In the end that is what the holiday is about right? Showing your love and appreciation for loved ones? Huge expensive gifts should not be a requirement. I was asked several times this season if all my shopping was done or my house decorated. I smiled and nodded not engaging in much of a conversation over it as it isn't something that is a huge deal for me. I do what I can for those I love and they know I love them. Is my house done up in lights? No. Do I have a huge tree with a ton of gifts spilling out from underneath? No. Do I love my family? Of course I do.
Now cards. I officially stopped doing them this year. I used to do them here and there, but in the end the stress of doing them was too much. I will not be penalized for not doing them. Will my friends think less of me for not doing them? Maybe. And if they do, then I imagine we are not very close. Will my family think less of not getting a card in the mail from me? They shouldn't. We get together, give gifts to the kids, spend time together. Again, they should know I love them whether or not a card arrives in the mail. I get less cards now that I stopped sending them and that is ok. Holiday cards seem like an obligation. Do I think less of people who don't send them? No.
So why write about all this? Because it has been on my mind. Why ask rhetorical questions? Because I want to. ;) This is my blog, I can say what I like and that is awesome.
So Mary, I hope you have enjoyed the holiday entry of my blog. Now that I have my thoughts on societal holiday norms off my mind, we shall see what I blog about next. I plan on trying to blog again before 8 months pass.
Oh and by the way for any who did not know, on November 18th I learned that I did achieve National Board Certification. Thank goodness. That THREE YEAR journey was a painful one, but in the end it inspired me to be a much better teacher.
One of the things hat has been on my mind this holiday season are societal expecations. As I get older I find I am less inclined to do much for the holidays. I am not completely sure why this is, but I do know this does not make me a bad person. I know I have a 7 year old son, and I don't deny him the festive fixings. He wants lights and decorations? We do lights and decorations...on a small scale. He picked out his very own lil tree and decorations, and we put it on an end table by our door. He was thrilled to do it, and it wasnt taxing for me...a win-win!
Then there is the craziness of shopping and holiday cards. Let me address shopping first. Any who know me know I LOVE TECHNOLOGY. I hate shopping. I hate crowds. Does that make me a scroodge? No. Due to finanaces I can only afford to get gifts for the kids in my family and my parents. Unfortunately the amount I can spend on each is not a huge, but I do what I can. In the end that is what the holiday is about right? Showing your love and appreciation for loved ones? Huge expensive gifts should not be a requirement. I was asked several times this season if all my shopping was done or my house decorated. I smiled and nodded not engaging in much of a conversation over it as it isn't something that is a huge deal for me. I do what I can for those I love and they know I love them. Is my house done up in lights? No. Do I have a huge tree with a ton of gifts spilling out from underneath? No. Do I love my family? Of course I do.
Now cards. I officially stopped doing them this year. I used to do them here and there, but in the end the stress of doing them was too much. I will not be penalized for not doing them. Will my friends think less of me for not doing them? Maybe. And if they do, then I imagine we are not very close. Will my family think less of not getting a card in the mail from me? They shouldn't. We get together, give gifts to the kids, spend time together. Again, they should know I love them whether or not a card arrives in the mail. I get less cards now that I stopped sending them and that is ok. Holiday cards seem like an obligation. Do I think less of people who don't send them? No.
So why write about all this? Because it has been on my mind. Why ask rhetorical questions? Because I want to. ;) This is my blog, I can say what I like and that is awesome.
So Mary, I hope you have enjoyed the holiday entry of my blog. Now that I have my thoughts on societal holiday norms off my mind, we shall see what I blog about next. I plan on trying to blog again before 8 months pass.
Oh and by the way for any who did not know, on November 18th I learned that I did achieve National Board Certification. Thank goodness. That THREE YEAR journey was a painful one, but in the end it inspired me to be a much better teacher.
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