Sadness, and a new challenge

As you know, I am a substitute teacher. I do enjoy it, and I'm pretty good at doing it. It isn't easy for many people to walk into a room full of teenagers and get them to 1) do what you are asking and 2) not set the room on fire (this really did happen to another sub) and 3) want you to come back again. I'm a gifted sub - I can do those things, teach a variety of subjects while I'm at it AND have a laugh with the kids. I also have the luxury of assessing whether or not I want to work on a particular day. This week I have been at home, and loving it. I've exercised like a woman on a mission (Wait!!! I AM a woman on a mission) and it's been great.  Yesterday I got a call from the school asking me to do a stint full time and I accepted.

The computer teacher at the junior high is a lovely woman - fun, vibrant and a great teacher. Her only child, a daughter aged 23, was killed in a skiing accident. I can't even think about it without crying. This girl, who had just graduated from college in June, was spending some time in Colorado, teaching skiing. She was an extreme skier, was skiing with mates in the back country, got separated from her friends, went into a tree well and couldn't get out. The weather got bad and they didn't find her until the next day, when it was too late. I never met her, but her mother was just as proud of her as a mother could be. So Rose and her husband have gone to be with their families and to mourn their beautiful girl. So I will try to keep her room running and the computers from being trashed while she is away.

Working full time presents challenges for someone who is used to calling the the day her own. I know, I know...most other people have to do it everyday, and yes, I do know that I'm lucky.Anyway.... I have to plan ahead - not just food, but most particularly, exercise. I will have to get up a bit over an hour earlier to get my yoga and cardio workout done, and then walk the Giz when i get home from school. Having planned and made a decision to stay on track without the excuses I would have made before feels somewhat easier. It isn't a day to day decision that I either make - or don't make. Plan, lay out my workout clothes, get up, put them on and get on with it.

So, say a prayer for strength for my friend, and tell your kids, or the people you love, that you love them.