Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Then I start to reconnect with the world. Well hello massively huge news cycle. Hello brand new professional obligations. Hello May when I am up to my eyeballs at work with senior credit deficiencies and award ceremonies. Hello single parenting nights when my spouse (who also works in education) is at school functions nearly every night until June. Life just got a bit on the other side of the line called exciting!
I try not to get political on here, and try to stay away from the major news of the day. I figure y'all have your favorite news websites and news bloggers for that. (well, at least I do!). However, in the last 7 days I have not been able to walk away from the following things on my TV:
Massive Southern Tornado Outbreak
The Royal Wedding
Osama Bin Laden
So, wow. I'm just glad I'm not employed by the news media right now. I follow a great many of them on twitter, and it exhausts me just reading their schedule...first headed down south, then to England, then back to NYC in the middle of the night on their day off! Yeesh. While the wedding was big news, it was what I called "fluff" news. A day for girls like me to look at pretty princess dresses, tiaras, princes, carriages, and remember when we were all little girls and dreamed about fairy tales. It was sweet and lovely. A distraction in the midst of other pressing matters. As a weather watcher (literally-The Weather Channel is in my list of favorites) I am riveted by the tornado outbreak coverage. It is simply devistating. At the end of today's post, I'll give you some links to places you can go to help out. Plus, one of my favorite bloggers, The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond is doing the coolest blog giveaway ever. Go and check it out.
Then last night, as I was doing the last of the laundry, and watching Sunday night HBO with the hubs, we got push alerts about a presidential address coming at 10:30. Unusual on a weeknight, let alone a Sunday. With family who serves our country, former students overseas, and having lived through 9/11 as a first-year teacher, I went from calmly folding laundry to nervously stacking folded t-shirts and pacing. As we watched the news of the night unfold I felt my mind catapulted back 10 years to the day I was giving my first exam as a teacher. Everyone says they remember exactly what they were doing, where they were on 9/11. We each have our own stories. That was the day I pulled my remaining foot out of my childhood and planted it firmly into adulthood. Twenty-five high school seniors were staring at me, wide-eyed, worry etched in their faces, wanting answers I didn't have. I wanted to run home. The world changed in the blink of an eye, and all I could do was clutch the rim of a chalk tray behind my back and pray for the wisdom to fumble forward into the day. Now I stand here, 10 years older (wiser?), having experienced the thrill of getting married, becoming a stepparent, finishing graduate school, becoming a parent, building a home, new jobs, and creating a life as a family. I stand here feeling the weight of adult worries on me, but thankful that I have a nest built to come home to. Today I will take the time to breathe deeply. To take in with my eyes all the beauty that surrounds my home. To be thankful for all the wonderful things in my life. I hope you will do the same.
As promised, for those of you who want to help storm victims, here are links to some great organizations:
ISOH/IMPACT-They're a local charity that does amazing work worldwide! Check out their "bucket brigade" it is so cool!!
The American Red Cross
The Salvation Army
Over and out.
