Good friends are hard to come by! Jill Dicken was in Quincy this past weekend. She was visiting for her nephew's 7th birthday. It was so fun to see her again and catch up in person!
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Friday, March 18, 2005
Time for a Break
Spring Break. Two blessed words. I have DEFINITELY needed this break. It has been a fairly decent week, given the fact that I stayed in Quincy instead of jetting to Florida or Colorado. It has been one jam packed break though, that's for sure.
It all began with a lovely pizza party last Friday in the classroom in which I am tutoring. I stayed in control, however, and only had one slice :) Then, it was on to Lincoln for what I anticipated to be a 30 minute stop. Instead, it turned into a nearly 4 hour visit! It was what I needed though. I was pleasantly and gratefully reminded of my old community, a community that I miss so much. There was laughing, reminiscing, catching up, more laughing, and a Snickers frappucino without the frappucino, MY FAVORITE! Only the Warehouse has this fabulous drink of mine, so I have to indulge every time I am there. After LCC, I hit Java Junction to see Chuck and Gail and had a very tasty Italian soda. Ah, it was GREAT!
By the time I made it home to Quincy it was almost 7 o'clock instead of 2 o'clock as I had planned for. Since then, it has been a bit of a blur. I have been all over the place! I had one of my roommates come over, I have been in a 5th grade classroom for 2 days, I have helped with a 5th grade science project, I have been shopping, I have been to Santino's THREE TIMES, and I even ventured to the Gyro House today.
Overall, it has been a great break. Haven't done too much homework yet, but I am trying not to care about that. There have been a few moments of discomfort, but in time, that will get better.
Soon and very soon I will return to school. I am ready to finish the semester, but I am not ready for all of the work that I need to finish. It is too bad that we can't have a spring break every couple of weeks!
It all began with a lovely pizza party last Friday in the classroom in which I am tutoring. I stayed in control, however, and only had one slice :) Then, it was on to Lincoln for what I anticipated to be a 30 minute stop. Instead, it turned into a nearly 4 hour visit! It was what I needed though. I was pleasantly and gratefully reminded of my old community, a community that I miss so much. There was laughing, reminiscing, catching up, more laughing, and a Snickers frappucino without the frappucino, MY FAVORITE! Only the Warehouse has this fabulous drink of mine, so I have to indulge every time I am there. After LCC, I hit Java Junction to see Chuck and Gail and had a very tasty Italian soda. Ah, it was GREAT!
By the time I made it home to Quincy it was almost 7 o'clock instead of 2 o'clock as I had planned for. Since then, it has been a bit of a blur. I have been all over the place! I had one of my roommates come over, I have been in a 5th grade classroom for 2 days, I have helped with a 5th grade science project, I have been shopping, I have been to Santino's THREE TIMES, and I even ventured to the Gyro House today.
Overall, it has been a great break. Haven't done too much homework yet, but I am trying not to care about that. There have been a few moments of discomfort, but in time, that will get better.
Soon and very soon I will return to school. I am ready to finish the semester, but I am not ready for all of the work that I need to finish. It is too bad that we can't have a spring break every couple of weeks!
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Life's Unexpected Lessons
I have a friend. His name is Sammy. He will be eleven next week. His favorite color is yellow and his room was recently painted to match his favorite color. He LOVES to talk to me about machines, cars, electronics, robots, and Thomas the Tank Engine. He likes to ride his go-cart on the golf cart path, and he loves his yellow bicycle. He has a strange fixation on screaming and crying babies. He wants to have his own RV with back-up video cameras, 6x6 wheels, and an air-conditioning system.
Sammy likes to go to the playground and he likes piggy-back rides. He likes to watch Monster Garage and just about anything else on the Discovery Channel or TLC that has to do with cars or any type of machinery. He is very talented when it comes to sound effects, especially motors.
Sammy doesn't usually like to be touched unless he touches you first. He likes to sit on me opposed to sitting next to me. He loves to listen to me read him Eyewitness books. However, he is not a huge fan of storybooks.
I have been babysitting Sammy and his sister for the past 6 months. I am with them everyday after school for about 2 hours. This job is like no other babysitting job I have ever had. I have learned more about education, families, and even myself at this "job" than any other job has ever taught me. Sammy sometimes challenges my patience and my sanity, but at the end of the day, it is all worth it.
Sammy has autism. He has a rather high-functioning form of this disorder, as he knows everything there is to know about my Honda Accord and almost every other car. I have had the opportunity to visit his classroom and see him in different environments.
Sammy's presence in my life has been a huge blessing to me. I knew going into this that I would be learning so many things, but never did I expect this relationship with this family to be so important to me. The things that Sammy directly and indirectly teaches me are priceless.
God is good. So very good. I can't wait to see how He will use these lessons later in my life.
P.S. There is a picture of Sammy below :)
Sammy likes to go to the playground and he likes piggy-back rides. He likes to watch Monster Garage and just about anything else on the Discovery Channel or TLC that has to do with cars or any type of machinery. He is very talented when it comes to sound effects, especially motors.
Sammy doesn't usually like to be touched unless he touches you first. He likes to sit on me opposed to sitting next to me. He loves to listen to me read him Eyewitness books. However, he is not a huge fan of storybooks.
I have been babysitting Sammy and his sister for the past 6 months. I am with them everyday after school for about 2 hours. This job is like no other babysitting job I have ever had. I have learned more about education, families, and even myself at this "job" than any other job has ever taught me. Sammy sometimes challenges my patience and my sanity, but at the end of the day, it is all worth it.
Sammy has autism. He has a rather high-functioning form of this disorder, as he knows everything there is to know about my Honda Accord and almost every other car. I have had the opportunity to visit his classroom and see him in different environments.
Sammy's presence in my life has been a huge blessing to me. I knew going into this that I would be learning so many things, but never did I expect this relationship with this family to be so important to me. The things that Sammy directly and indirectly teaches me are priceless.
God is good. So very good. I can't wait to see how He will use these lessons later in my life.
P.S. There is a picture of Sammy below :)
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
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