#36 Being Okay Enough

#35 The Last Day of Summer

Today, we celebrated the very last day of summer with our final family barbecue.

Matt and I brought apple chicken sausages and salad to the elder Hannah's, while Zack walked over from working at the cider mill down the street with fresh doughnuts. Matt's mom made mac and cheese, and his dad grilled burgers. Amos ate the grapes off the table.

We all ate on the back porch and drank in this last, gorgeous day. I curled up on the back porch and finished my book while Zack, Matt and his dad played cards at the table. It was a perfect, peaceful evening before the chaos of the first day of school that will follow in a few short hours.

Looking back, this has been one of the most rejuvenating, best summers of my adult life. Sure, it definitely wasn't the most adventurous, or even interesting. But that was exactly what I needed. I've spent so much time going going going, even when I've been depressed, exhausted, angry, and just plain spent. But I needed to make my only goal of the summer to read at least ten books and to water my flowers. It was exactly what I needed, peppered in with the trip to Hawaii and the excitement of buying a house. A great summer. I feel a little like my old self again, filled with optimism and ready to start the school year.

Honorable Mention:

• My last late afternoon nap for a looooong time

#34 Being Obsessive

I admit, I'm a book nerd.

But my love for novels extends to an obsessive level for series and sagas. And one step further? Science fiction.

So when I started reading The Hunger Games, I knew I wouldn't be able to stop until I finished reading the entire trilogy as fast as possible.

Oh, sure, I'm like that with all series. I read the first one casually and then devour the rest as fast as I can until I'm finished and (usually) satisfied, although a little sad. I think about them when I'm not reading them. And I text my friends that have read them with my undying love for the characters.

I read the entire Percy Jackson and the Olympians series when I was on spring break last year. My house went to hell and we ran out of toilet paper and food. When we moved into the house we live in currently, I was in the middle of reading the Twilight saga. I would secretly hide in corners of the house pretending to "unpack" so that Matt wouldn't get mad at me.

So now, as usual, I find myself ripping through these books. But I'm loving the distraction, as well as the plot. I feel like I deserve this last weekend of pure reading marathon status since I start seeing students this week. Or maybe I just deserve it just because.

Honorable Mentions:

• Fresh, warm cider mill doughnuts and cider
• An awesome, productive Change Exchange meeting this evening

#33 Sleep Overs

Yesterday, Keri and I decided to spend the evening being miserable together.

Although I didn't end up being miserable at all, which is the great thing about great friends. We ate mac and cheese, played Lego Harry Potter on the Wii, and watched ghost stories on TV. All-in-all, a pretty successful evening.

I really loved having the company and having some definitely-needed fun, even if it was just video games and TV. Sometimes that's all you really need to perk back up again and feel restored.

Honorable Mention:

• A beautiful, breezy fall day and wearing a cardigan

#32 Your Best Friend

I've known Keri for twelve years.

I have a lot of really amazing people in my life. But I know who to turn to when things get really rough. And Keri is always number one. This is because her tactic is complete honesty, which is what I almost always need.

I've been through some pretty tough stuff, especially in the last three years. Dark subject matter that was (and sometimes still is) all-consuming and downright depressing. I've always felt older than a lot of my friends, because I feel like I've flown through a lot of life's sad, but inevitable, milestones already. And I feel alone a lot because of that, like my own little island. I can sense that a lot of my friends don't know what to say to me over some of these things, and they get uncomfortable. So I try not to talk about it, or I keep it lighter than what I really feel. I don't blame them. I just know it's hard for them to understand what it's like to be on my little piece of the world right now.

But with Keri, I've hit friend gold. Because even though she also doesn't completely understand, she's the first to admit that. She's completely honest, and instead of constantly trying to look at the positive for me when I'm ranting and crying and pissed at life, she will be the first one to say, "I don't know what to tell you."

But I love that she admits that. Because really, when someone is so depressed and angry about things out of their control, they don't really want someone telling them to look on the bright side. At that moment, the "bright side" is that they aren't completely suicidal... yet. And that's about it. I love that Keri acknowledges that and then just listens. Which is all anyone really ever wants, anyway.

So today, I'm thankful for Keri's awesome listening skills. And for the fact that she keeps listening, even after my many emotional relapses. Thanks. I love you.

#31 Rainy Days

Whenever the sun is out for long stretches, I immediately miss the rain.

Rainy, cloudy weather is my absolute favorite. I love the salty smell of fresh rain, the rolling gray skies, warm drizzle on the window panes, foggy mornings after a storm... Mmm.

I have two favorite things to do while it's raining.

1. Write in my office. I love to sit at my big, oak desk that faces the window and listen to the rain. I flick on the tiny lamp in the corner and sit in the dim room with a mug of tea or cinnamon coffee and tap on the computer keys. In fact, I look at the weather report and plan time at my desk around the impending rain.

2. Silent reading at school. I used to looooove when it rained while I was in school as a kid. Our teacher would let us snuggle into bean bag chairs or sprawl across the floor while we read and listened to the rain. So I get nostalgic when it rains while I'm (still) at school and I can let my students snuggle into my frog chair and read some Amelia Bedelia.

Today, however, I got to do my third favorite rainy day thing, which is nap. So Amos and I snuggled down on the couch with the fleece blanket. I cracked the window just enough to hear the rain, and we were out for the count.

Honorable Mention:

• Matt getting home early from work and settling in for a night of DVR'ed shows and movies with me

#30 A Home Away from Home

I spent ten hours at work today.

With meetings all morning, I was starting to get worried that I wouldn't finish setting up my room by Open House at six.

So after lunch, I scrambled to put things away, organize cabinets, and make it comfy. I finished just in time, and I finally feel ready to start the school year.

I know this week has consisted of all things elementary school related, but I continue to find myself grateful for this job everyday. And also, frankly, it's all I've had time to think about since Monday. But tomorrow is a half-day, followed by a four day weekend. I'll be sipping tea, reading, and pondering all of the other awesome things in my life that got neglected during this transition.

Honorable Mentions:

• Pumpkin Spice Lattes are officially at Starbucks today. Fall is here!
• My school being on page ONE of the Michigan Schools Top to Bottom ranking. Fifty schools on a page, fifty-seven pages (you do the math) and we're ranked among the best. Look for Workman Elementary fourth from the bottom here.