Parent Teacher Conferences

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to my daughter’s school and meet her teachers for parent-teacher conferences.  It was a super-huge, proud-momma evening.

For her core classes, the teachers were all in a room together.  (It was supposed to save time but I’m skeptical if it worked as well as they hoped.)  Her history, science, and English teachers all spoke very highly of her.  When the teacher that didn’t have her in class mentioned that her math teacher has even spoken highly of her on their commute into work; well, I became a little choked up.  It’s one thing to have the proverbial smoke blown up your butt into your face during a face-to-face meeting, but to have one of her teachers speak often to another teacher about how highly she thinks of Morgan (on their “off” time) is a little different.  I was just so proud of her.

Then, I headed to her special classes, a computer class and a consumer math class.  She’ll have these classes for a 6-week term.  Mostly,  I wanted to ensure that her new teachers, were on the same page as everyone else regarding her diabetes.  Unfortunately, that was not the case. 

We have actual doctor’s orders and a 504 Plan in place at the school so that Morgan has a standard care plan that everyone follows.  They didn’t even have a packet for emergency low blood sugars in their rooms, which all of her teachers have, so that she can start getting some glucose in her during the walk down to the wellness center.  I spoke to the principal before I left the school and I will be in contact with the nurse to make sure that this is quickly rectified. 

While this was all going on, Morgan kept herself busy with a few of the other kids greeting conference attendees and assisting them at the hospitality table.  I ended up taking her out to dinner afterward to show her just how proud I was of her and share some of the things that I learned while I was in the various meetings.   It was a very good night which ended with some great mother-daughter dialogue.

You Don’t Have to Be Good at it . . .

As I mentioned, Morgan is playing on the golf team this season.  She’s had a great time and the season is almost ready to come to a close.  It was a very busy 6 weeks.

At today’s practice, some of the moms and I were talking about the upcoming sport’s season.  The only thing that the school offers in the winter is basketball.  They asked if Morgan would be playing. 

I said she doesn’t particularly like basketball or have any interest in it.   However, playing basketball is better than sitting at home watching tv or playing the Wii or the Xbox.  Of course, they all agreed.

Then, one of the other moms said, “She doesn’t have to be good at it, it is good for her.”

Well, how perfect is that, and not just with basketball, either.  I think I’m going to be using that line again and again.  It may even find its way to a prominent spot in the house.  I think it is a great reminder for all of us.

Pondering the Opening Episode of Grey’s Anatomy

Holy Moly!  The Season 9 opening episode of Grey’s Anatomy was such an emotional rollercoaster for me.  Wow! 

Sloan-*sniff*-I just wanted him to wake up so badly.  But, I can see how it would have been a horrible storyline had he survived with Lexi dead.  His whole after-crash character would have been about depression and missed opportunities.  Rather, his death makes their story much more Romeo-and-Juliet-esque.  I was surprised that Addison didn’t make an appearance for the death vigil.  All-in-all, kudos to the writer’s for humanizing his death and not making it all about his womanizing.

Did anyone else think it was weird that Meredith just took off and said tell Derek I’m going to Minnesota?  When she freaked on the plane, that just wasn’t realistic.   Both scenes just felt “forced.”

I thought “Booty-Call Bailey” was so freaking funny.  I laughed . . . hard.  I was surprised to see Ben show up at all because I read somewhere that he had a new show. 

I was also shocked, like everyone else I suppose, to see Arizona in the end.  Honestly, I wish her storyline was just done.   She’s my least favorite character.

What did you think?  Please, let me know in the comments.

Train Photojournal for 9/28/12

As you may or may not know, my husband is a signal worker for CSX.  I thought it would be fun to share some of his pictures.  I know some of them  offer unique, behind-the-scenes perspectives.

This next one is a lousy picture with the door in the way, but it’s a picture of the Tropicana Juice Train.  This is one train that needs to be on time for the country to move normally every day.

I hope you enjoy this week’s selection.

Mission Possible: Overcoming Blogger Constipation

Yesterday, I mentioned my horrible case of writer’s block.  It lasted for months, definitely the entire summer.  (It would have been so much easier just to take a blogger’s laxative.)  When it came to writing anything, I was just empty.  To top that off, the emptiness was pretty darn painful.  I wanted to pop in and say “Hi” but,   for whatever reason, I just couldn’t find the right time or the right words. 

So, I wanted to share what I did to overcome my blogging “affliction”. 

1.)  When I realized what was happening, because it didn’t dawn on me right away, I Googled “overcoming writer’s block”.  Really.  This started me on a path to reading.  I started reading everything from the town newspaper, to US Magazine, to quite a few books.  I started participating a bit over at Goodreads and lately, I started checking out the NY Times Booklists for new titles to add to my want-to-read list. 

2.)  There was one type of reading I stopped altogether, and that was reading other people’s blogs.  I still read blogs on the technical aspects of blogging and marketing, but I stopped reading the blogs of my virtual “friends”.  I needed to step back and evaluate my blog’s direction and my goals.  I couldn’t do that comparing myself to other people.  I’m sure that I’ll be able to visit them again in the future, but I needed to find MY voice.

3.)  I started carrying a pad of paper and a pen in my purse to keep track of lists and ideas.  Did you know, that if I write down that I need ketchup, sugar, aluminum foil, and batteries the next time I go to the store, it frees up space?  Major Light Bulb Moment!  My sister would have at one time called this the “Kelly Bundy Theory to Memorization.”  The premise is that there is only so much space in your head.  If you remember something new, something else must obviously leave and who knows what that evicted morsel is going to be?  By the way, reading helps it grow to make more room.

4.)  I started a major de-clutter and cleaning job.  If I didn’t love it or it didn’t serve a purpose, it was outta here!  I needed to carve out “me time” and the best way to do that was to simplify my life and space around me.  Normally, I would have put everything into storage to have a yard sale.  However, “yard sale” and “simplify” are not synonymous terms.  Was the gamble of $10 to $100 worth the many hours getting ready for a sale and then sitting there?  I didn’t think so.  We had a lot of trash the past few weeks.

5.)  My de-clutter also followed me to my personal Facebook page.  Let’s just say, there were more than a few people that didn’t make the cut.

6.)  Finally, I started keeping a journal.  Whatever I want to say, think about, and ponder goes in here.  Again, it made room in the old noggin.  Plus, it let me write about some more personal issues that I don’t need to discuss with the world.  It turned out to be my own Blogger’s Prozac.

I will be continuing my newly formed habits so that I can continue to blog regularly.  What have you done to overcome writer’s block?