First Day Butterflies...

I know the new year technically begins in January, but for a teacher in Forest Lake, MN, the new year begins tomorrow. Every year brings something new. New challenges. New "lightbulb moments." New strategies. And I'm looking forward to seeing what this year has in store for me. As I look at my roster, I see certain names and laugh to myself about things I remember of them from last year. I wonder if they will have made gains over the summer, or if they have regressed. I see new names of students I've never met, and know next to nothing about. I find that I have nervous butterflies a little bit, but not in a bad way. More in an excited, enthusiastic, I can't wait to see my kids kind of way.

Now, before I ramble on about my excitement for the new school year, I should probably take a few

Great fortune for my next year!

minutes to talk about the events of the last few days. It's definitely been a unique Labor Day weekend. Normally, Labor Day weekend in my life consists of a trip to the State Fair, or a visit to our family friends' cabin. But this year was a little bit different. I took Charley to school on Friday, and went in to get some work done in my classroom. The more time I spend in that room by myself, the more I seem to be able to find ways to improve my various "systems." With that said...I should probably spend less time in my classroom. Ha! Anyway, I went in around 7:30, with intentions of leaving by 10 or 10:30. At 12:45, I finally left the building, and managed to get soaked in one of several downpours that took place on Friday. From there, I went to the grocery store to buy supplies for a little Labor Day/End of Summer BBQ I had planned. It's always challenging to buy groceries for a BBQ. It's never really clear how many people will come, or how much they will eat or drink, and I'm generally under the philosophy that I'd rather have a ton of food left over, than have people here who don't get to eat. With that said, I currently have a fridge full of leftover food that I'll be pawning off on my co-workers this week. Later, I picked up Charley, and we went to dinner with my mom and sister at one of my favorite restaurants. It was nice. While I was in Edina, I picked up my mom's dog, who Charley and I were dog-sitting over the weekend. He can be kind of aggressive with new people, but if he's familiar with you, he's a pretty nice, easy dog. Anyway, we brought him home,  got settled in, and went to bed pretty quickly, because Charley seemed to develop a fever while we were at my mom's house.

Pre-Party Charley

Saturday, I spent my morning preparing food. Charley was still a little bit feverish, but feeling fine, so of course she wanted to play. I wanted to make sure she didn't overexert herself, because I really didn't want her to be sick for the BBQ on Sunday, so we had a lazy day. I mean LAZY. Yes, I was baking, boiling, chopping, and taste-testing, but honestly, by the time noon rolled around, I was bored. At some point I need to find a happy medium between being totally over-scheduled and stressed out, and being so bored I spend my Saturday reading through IEPs. Sadly, yes, I was reading through IEPs on a Saturday. The lazy day paid off, because Charley was fever-free by noon, slept all night,  and woke up ready to have her friends come play. It's funny how BBQs go from just having friends over, to having your kids' friends over. I think it's great, though, and we were both excited.

I spent Sunday morning doing last minute cleaning, and getting things ready. Around 11:30, I decided I'd start the coals on the grill, but naturally it was windy, and the coals wouldn't light. I happened to be talking to one of my girlfriends on the phone at the time (safe, I know), and she suggested I put some paper towels in with the coals and light those. Now, I'm sure it went against all grilling-safety rules, but it worked. Phew! When friends started trickling in, I was manning the grill, which was probably not the best idea, primarily because it put me in charge of cooking, and I've only actually grilled about 3 times. Even worse, I don't eat red meat, so cooking burgers was kind of like a joke. I can make a tasty turkey burger, but when it comes to beef, I have no idea what I'm doing. Fortunately, my friend's fiancee offered to take over the grilling, so I could host. It was so nice! And I'm sure the food turned out significantly better than it would have, if I had been cooking! I had a great time with my friends, and Charley had a wonderful time with hers.

Among the people who came to the party are several co-workers from the school, and a few of my closest friends from high school. It was the first time my high school friends have been up to my new place, and I was kind of looking forward to showing them where I'm living. They all seemed to love the neighborhood, and could tell that I'm very happy living here. When they left (they had a long drive home), several of my co-workers hung around for awhile longer. We chatted about school, a little bit, and one of them asked me, "How did you end up in Forest Lake?" It was a legitimate question. I mean, I grew up in Edina, and I'm a product of the Edina Public Schools. I had a great school experience, and I wouldn't have changed anything about it. I basically replied that I have lived in cities and suburbs all of my life, and I kind of wanted to get out of the city. But the truth is, I am not sure exactly what lead me to Forest Lake. I mean, I applied in several districts, but from the beginning...even before I'd gone for my interview... I felt like Forest Lake was where I should be. I'm not quite sure what drew me to it, but as soon as I got the phone call offering me the job, it just kind of seemed like fate. Like my life was moving in the right direction. As Charley and I were driving to meet with a friend this morning, a song came on the radio that seemed very fitting. The song is called Compass, and the chorus is as follows:

Let your heart, sweet heart,
Be your compass when your lost,
And you should follow it wherever it may go.
When it's all said and done,
You can walk instead of run,
Because no matter what, you'll never be alone.

Now, I'm sure the song is really intended to apply to relationships, but in my case, it just applies to my life. I followed my "compass" and trusted my instinct. And I was right. So, I suppose, that's how I ended up in Forest Lake, and I'm so glad I did.

Alright, this post is way longer than I'd intended it to be. I'll likely post later in the week...I'm getting close to my 100th blog post! Maybe I'll hit that milestone in the next couple of weeks. Wish me luck, and have a great week!