Refilling

Sometimes I worry that people are getting tired of my recovery story, but then I have the kind of outpouring of positive responses like last week that remind me there are still hundreds of people encouraging me and praying for me. Thank you.

This week was still crazy busy for me as I oversaw my first official National Honor Society induction ceremony on Monday evening and submitted my quarter grades with comments by Wednesday. I absolutely love my job (in case you might have missed that in previous posts), but it still takes a lot of energy. The NHS officers I work with are incredible, and they did a wonderful job planning this ceremony that I'd never seen done before. (Despite having been NHS sponsor since arriving at BFA, I skipped out on my first year's induction by breaking my back and we didn't have one last year.) I love every one of my students, so it's not hard to write a sentence telling their parents such - it's just time consuming.

Those two major events following my urology appointment meant that I was still on an antibiotic regimen which keeps me below my A-game as a teacher. I was a little disappointed with my classroom management by Thursday because I'd been seated for over a week, lacking the stamina to stand for my lessons. My energy was emptied by the events of the last two weeks, so I knew I would need to refill this weekend in order to thrive in the classroom again. I actually started before the weekend. Those of you who know me well know that Thursday was one of my favorite days of the year, so I needed to find a way to celebrate despite my lethargy. I'd invited my friend Jo over to watch V for Vendetta with me in celebration of Guy Fawkes Day, and I introduced him to some delicious Mexican food (did you know they don't eat sopapillas in England?). 

I could go on for hours about why I love that film, but I'll limit myself here to say that I really value the message encouraging people to stand up for what's right in the face of mindless oppression. I want to be like that, and I want to encourage my students to do the same. My job is not to convert every kid in my class but rather present information about Christianity to them so they make an educated an informed personal decision about whether they will follow Christ. I was starting to get discouraged by Thursday that I was ineffective at my job, but I had a great moment in my third period class when the majority of my students were able to articulate for me at least one reason they recognized as important for them to learn theology. 

No teacher can reach every single student, but a good teacher never stops trying. I was able to step up my game on Friday without more antibiotics, and this weekend was an opportunity for my body to reset for me to go back to work reinvigorated for next week's lessons. Sadly this bodily reset involved a whole lot of gastrointestinal pain this morning, but I'm pretty sure that was my guts celebrating that the antibiotics are done; I just wish it was a little less raucous of a party on my insides.

I haven't heard anything from my insurance about the Botox treatment yet, so please keep praying that news comes quickly, and along with that pray that my attention stays on my teaching rather than worrying about the medical complications of my life. I love my job, and I want to be a good teacher who never stops trying to excite her students and engage them in learning.