A video that I think we should all watch and think on. Things like this affect more people than you might imagine. My son, for example. And my daughter, when she is old enough to choose the person that she wants to spend her life with.
"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.
There is a petition, until February 14th. The link is HERE. Do something about this, please go and sign the petition, then call your governors office. The US is so far behind the UK in terms of equal rights for LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Questioning) persons. The US is even further behind the vast majority of Europe. Every family deserves an opportunity to have the same rights, and when enough people stand up and defend the equality of ALL people, then change will come.
Friday, 6 February 2009
I think this is important enough to share.
Sunday, 1 February 2009
And did I mention it's BLEEPING COLD?!?!?!?!
This is what I am looking at on my igoogle right now.
Weather
Wind: E at 8 mph
Humidity: 59%
Wind: N at 0 mph
Humidity: 15%
Wind: NW at 0 mph
Humidity: 14%
So I hope all of you are basking in the warmth right now, because I'm freezing! This storm is coming across from Siberia and waging cold war here (heehee-cold war) but honestly, I think if I wanted to have weather from Siberia I would have moved there. I'm wearing a shirt AND a heavy turtleneck sweater, the hot water bottle giraffe (his name is Jonah, for future reference) is my best friend, and I have my dead sheep (the grey fuzzy slippers that Ashley swears looks like I cut the feet off of a sheep, hollowed them out, and stuck my feet in them... but MAN are they warm!) on my feet, and I'm still cold.
COLDCOLDCOLDCOLDCOLDCOLDCOLDCOLDCOLDCOLDCOLD!
And did I mention COLD?!
But my lesson plans are done, not just for tomorrow, but Tuesday also, and I have the whole week well planned in my head, which means I should absolutely rock on Wednesday when I have my major important observation.
Oh, and Happy SuperBowl.
Oh, and Paula's new-and-improved-she-swears website is linked on the sidebar, and she has some new paintings. *drool* If only I had $2000 lying around not being used.
Friday, 23 January 2009
Ecstasy in the Pit of Despair
Things are very weird around here.
Stephen is ill again, and I have had this terrible headache that beats in time to my heart and feels like I am wearing a cap of pain for the last two weeks. My mother is not improving, and is, in fact, getting worse. I am stressed to the max, what with papers due and all sorts of other stressors, both ordinary and extraordinary. I'm in the midst of my final teaching placement, in a year group that I am not comfortable nor familiar with. (The only age children that I haven't worked with IN MY LIFE.) I am not sleeping well. Not nightmares, thank goodness, but toss and turn and doze but not sleep, and fall asleep just in time to wake up exhausted. This is the pit of despair.
And in the midst of all of this... my life is tremendously good. I love me. I love being alive and being in my life. I feel young and (most of the time) strong and healthy. Stephen may well be the most wonderful adult male alive (sorry Daddy and Dan - you can come in an extremely close second.) My daughter is the awesomest, as is my son. The world is a beautiful place to live, I am in the midst of extraordinary times, and the sunshine makes me bask in it.
It just struck me today, in the midst of mucking about in the pit of despair, exactly how good my life is, and how much I love it. Yes, I'm tired, I'm worn out, and I'm sad about a lot of things. I feel as though I have this gem, and that I don't deserve it at all. It is like a vein of precious jewels. The dichotomy is stark.
Some examples.
This morning, we overslept. By a lot. I had 30 minutes to get to the bus, which is a 15 minute walk away. My lunch was ready, though not packed. My computer was not packed. I was not going to get it all ready. Stephen offered to help me, and he packed my laptop and my lunch while I got dressed and threw in my contacts. As I was leaving, I moaned about the fact that I wasn't going to have breakfast, in a not serious way, to which he replied that my breakfast was made and in my backpack waiting for me. I love him so much more now than I did when I moved in with him.
Last year this time, we were struggling with Ashley about a myriad of things, including her grades. She had checked out. This year, she keeps up with her studies, works hard, and I am not frightened of going to her parents night next week. I get to let her go out and do things, and trust her. I get to tell her 'yes' to things rather than grounding her. She is doing really well and I am proud of her.
I am a few weeks away from paying off my tuition for the entirety of my bachelor's degree, a few months early. This may not sound that awe-inspiring, but it has been a lot of money and I have been really stressing out about being able to afford it all. I have been ultra-conservative in spending. And it is a huge load off of my back to have it payed off. That means I will be able to graduate, which means I can get a job that will enable me to pay off the rest of the things that I need to. This is a good thing.
There is a position opening up at the school that I am placed at (which I really really love.) I spoke to the administration about it today, and they have given me a timeline, and a really positive response to my inquiry. I had an impromptu pseudo-interview, and was told that Monday I start a "7 week job interview". No pressure there. And I want it. So badly. It is in a reception class (ages 4 to 5, kind of but not really equivalent to kindergarten) and while it is not my dream age group, it is my second choice. I would much rather be in a perfect-for-Amy school. They are inclusive, they work hard to be socially just. And it is in a beautiful tiny town called Reculver. I could easily see us living there, and raising children there. I would be comfortable with my kids going to this school.
I was thinking about how to title this post on the way home. It has been a dark dark time, what with death and illness and stress. I feel as though I am high. Like drugs that make you feel so physically GOOD that you just have to roll in it. Like heroin. It would have been an appropriate title, but I thought that there would be a lot of people who wouldn't understand that. Ecstasy explains it pretty well too, though. My world doesn't have to be perfect to just be that darn good.
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
Blech.
I am sick. It comes from Stephen being sick. He has been running a fever and has had a cough deep in his chest. Now I have the exact same thing. I feel absolutely terrible. No appetite, nausea, coughing so much I can't sleep. I am lucky, in that he has done a really nice job taking care of me. I almost feel coddled. Then I remember how cruddy I feel.
And then today, in the midst of thinking that perhaps I would feel a bit better if someone were to actually shoot me and put me out of my misery, my glasses broke in half. I took them off of my face to wipe them off, and the split apart in my hands. I have put off getting new glasses. These are the ones I think I got in 2005. I kept telling myself that, even though I was pretty sure that my prescription had changed, I could hold out just until I had finished paying off my tuition. Well, that is not happening. My old glasses are not repairable.
I have an appointment for an eye exam in the morning. This afternoon Kelley and Stephen went out and about, but I chose to stay home in bed for feeling so bad. While they were gone, Stephen took my old glasses into the place that I have the appointment, and secretly had them transfer my old lenses into a temporary frame. I have to give them back tomorrow, but it means that I have glasses to see with until then.
He really is sweet.
