30-For-30: Laurie B.

Towards the end of my senior year of college, I started applying at various schools in the valley.  I applied to public schools, but I knew my heart wasn't in it and spent more of my effort looking at alternative schools in the area.  I applied to Community High School, which would be opening in the fall and my resume was sent down to the lower school, and I recieved a call from the director, Laurie B.  I went in for an interview and realized that Laurie had been one of my teachers when I was in fourth and fifth grade at the PLATO program at Raleigh Court Elementary.
I was fresh out of college and while I had experience in education, most of it was with high school students, where I had planned on teaching English.  Laurie, however, gave me a chance and I ended up teaching a mix of third and fourth grades at Community School.  Laurie was an amazing mentor; she was there for advice and suggestions, as a sounding board when I had ideas that I thought were maybe too crazy.  She helped to give me the confidence to try new things and to know that even if they  didn't work out, that I could try something else.  She encouraged me to take chances and as a first year teacher, it meant so much to me to have a boss who trusted me.  Part of the reason I know today that I am a good teacher is because of her support and wisdom.  Laurie, thank you.  Your guidance got me through my first years of teaching and built the foundation for what has come since, and if I can offer only half of what you gave to me to someone else, I will have done well.

In the summertime, when the weather is fine...

The weather has been so very fine this week; the humidty seeped away and left us with warm, sunny days that didn't try to steal your breath.  There were beautiful breezes that were perfect for days at the park or mini road trips and lunch with friends.  I love my job; being a teacher is such a rewarding profession, but I'm also really enjoying being home with E$ this summer.  Not that I haven't enjoyed in before, but at almost 2 1/2, he's at an age where we can get into all kinds of things.  We've been painting a lot (finger painting, dressing up simple wooden picture frames, and we're getting ready to tackle the front porch...), catching fireflies, blowing bubbles, taking walks and having picnics, exploring our neighborhood and library and perhaps the best of all, taking a nap together just about every afternoon.  We're having popsicles for breakfast (yogurt pops that we're making, so it's still healthy!) and staying up late.  I'm plowing through books and feel relaxed-- exactly what summer is supposed to be! 

Thought I'd share a recipe that I made last night, Raspberry Whoopie Pies!  I got the recipe from an issue of Everyday Food (which I love!) and altered it just a bit.  It was a perfect summertime dessert!

Cream 1 cup of brown sugar and 1 stick of butter; add one egg and 1 ts vanilla (I actually added 1 TB because the original recipe called for lemon zest, which we were out of).  Then, alternate with 2 1/4 cups flour and 1 cup milk (again, recipe called for whole milk but we only had 2%).  Add 3/4 ts baking powder and 1/4 ts baking soda.  I used a small cookie scoop and made about 30 cookies (it took 3 sets).  Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, get ready to make some delicious raspberry whipped cream!  I put my stainless steel bowl and the carton of whipping cream in the freezer for awhile (10-30 minutes, whileI'm cleaning up from baking).  In the cold bowl, add about 3 TB of brown sugar with one small carton of whipping cream (about 3/4 cup) and whip!  In a separate bowl, mash 1 pint of fresh raspberries (yum!  We always have to buy extra berries to cover for the ones we snack on while we're baking) and blend that into the whipped cream.  Once the cookies have completely cooled, put a nice dollop of whipped cream on one and top with another!  We ate a few last night and they were so delicious; perfect for a summer evening.  I also put several in the feezer; I'll let you know how those turn out and I'll take some pictures.  Enjoy!

The Party Before the Storm.

So as of Wednesday, I am officially 29, in the last year of my twenties, as one of my students called, the party before the storm (it was a genius reference, really, as we had just finished up our unit on the Stock Market crash in 1929 and the Depression in the 1930's). Although I an avid birthday-celebrator, I wasn't really looking forward to my birthday this year. Not because of the age, because I really don't mind being 29. After all, I have everything on my "what I really want out of life" life-- a little cottage house, a blue Jeep Cherokee Sport, a big black dog, a superhot best best friend that I got to marry, an adorable son (bonus-- I have two adorable sons), and a job I enjoy. I have accmplished a lot in these 29 years. I wasn't looking forward to it because there was no celebration. Our funds are so very low right now that I cancelled the party we were going to host here and bowed out of my part of the party that was supposed to be joint venture with a fellow Februarian next week. In short, there wasn't anything to look forward to.

But, oh how I was wrong. Wednesday was awesome. Jason was super sweet and got up with Ethan in the am, so I could snooze a few more minutes before work. Anna Beebe, my carpool coworker, brought me flowers. One student made me breakfast and set everything up before I got to school (pancakes, strawberries and juice-- YUM!). My class celebrated Semicolon Appreciation Day, a day of my own invention, the excuse to celebrate my birthday, so we had muffins and juice and more pancakes and French toast. Then there were cupcakes and cake, but the best part came at last period. I was getting ready to give a quiz on To Kill a Mockingbird, when I was called out of the room. When I came back, the lights were off and the kids were gone-- until someone jumped out, shouted surprise and turned the lights on. There was a huge box on the desk. I hate opening gifts in front of people, but I had to. So as 28 students and 2 coworkers watched, I opened the box to find an autographed copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. I was floored. The thoughtfulness that went into this gift, the fact that these kids were a part of it, that they cared enough about me to do something so amazing. I'm not sure I have ever felt so loved. This was the book that changed my reading life; it was this book that showed me that books were more than just a distraction, but that they were meaningful in complex ways and different for different people. I was in tears as I tried explaining this to them and just in awe. They *get* it; they must have some understanding of why I teach literature to them and that is reason I teach.

I came home to more delicious cake, made by my best best friend/husband. My mom stopped by (and now that I am a mother, I realize that my birthday is just as important to my mom as it is to me) I had a pizza dinner with all of my boys and I went to bed a happy and fulfilled woman.

Life is good.