We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and me for another Fit Five Friday link-up!  

Happy Friday!  Today is my second week of Summer School.  One more week to go!  It is an interesting group.  My first week was rough because of the personalities of two girls.  One disagrees with pretty much everything I say or or doesn’t want to do.  Another one talks back and questions everything I say and do.  What shocked me the most is when she answered back with “Why is it a problem that I moved?”  It is Summer School and it is supposed to be fun and stress free.

Here are a couple of my favorite moments from the first half of the year.

• Last day of school.  It was a wild year with the extra 30 minutes in the day and a new Reading curriculum.  I was exhausted and a few times angry.  There was a lot of work to do but not enough time.  We didn’t receive any training for the new curriculum and I spent HOURS and HOURS going through the program to learn as much as I could about it.  I think it paid off!

• Finding out I was picked to run the Chicago Marathon.  I entered the lottery but didn’t get picked.   A friend of mine ran the NYC Marathon last year through Team TCS Teachers.  I submitted an application along with a short essay not expecting to be picked.  Imagine my surprise when I saw the email letting me know I was selected to be on the team.

• Running the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle.  It is one of my favorite races and the unofficial start of the running season in Chicago.  I hadn’t been running consistently but I didn’t care.  I still wanted to run the race anyway.  I didn’t do that great (my worst time in that distance) but I didn’t care either.

• When I got a refund from my dentist.  I was shocked when I found out how much I had to pay for a new night guard.  But I needed it so I paid for it.  I was told my insurance didn’t cover it.  Now I wonder if they actually checked.  Well, about a week later I received a message from the receptionist telling me that my insurance would in fact cover it and I will receive a check for a refund.  It wasn’t for the full amount but pretty close to it.

• Receiving my assignment letter.  This letter lets me know where I will be working during the following school year.  For the past 10 years, I’ve been in the same school and in the same grade, but two years ago I was moved to a different school (the school was closed).  The letter I received this year said that I would be in the same school, in the same grade, and in the same classroom.  However, that can all change, but I hope not.  I told my Principal that I want to stay in the same school until I retire.

The topic for next week – Runfessions with Marcia.  We hope you’ll link up with us!

We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and me for another Fit Five Friday link-up!

I ran my first marathon in 2006.  Since then I’ve run 7 more marathons.  Throughout the years I’ve learned a couple of things here and there about training and running a marathon.  

• Have fun.  Running a marathon is one big party.  Take in everything that the crowd offers – from fruit, water, candy, and maybe the alcoholic drinks.  Just kidding.  Maybe.  

• Be prepared for anything.  I prepare as best as I can but race day doesn’t always go as we expect it to go.  Things such as weather, feeling nervous, bathroom issues, etc. happen.

• Don’t stress too much about the weather.  There isn’t much we can do about the weather except to be ready for it.  I will always remember the hot weather at the 2007 Chicago Marathon.  It was so hot that the race was cancelled.

• Rest and recover.  Training for a marathon is a lot on the body.  The body needs to recover.  We need to sleep and rest to continue to run/train for the marathon.

• Do the long runs.  I remember Bart Yasso saying this one time I went to hear him speak a few weeks before the Chicago Marathon.  He said that if you are going to skip/miss a run, don’t skip the long run.

The topic for next week – Runfessions with Marcia.  We hope you’ll link up with us!

We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and me for another Fit Five Friday link-up!  

Happy Friday!  April is almost over which means May is around the corner and that brings me closer to the end of the school year.  Why do administrators think it is a good idea to have lesson studies and walkthroughs during this time?  We have 25 days left of school.  I want to start packing up my classroom and have fun with my students.

Do you ever ask what if questions?  Do you wonder how different your life would have turned out if you had made different decisions?  I believe things happen for a reason but I still wonder.  Here are a few I came up with for now.

• What if I hadn’t made a career change?  I know I’ve mentioned here before but I wasn’t always a teacher.  I worked in a nonprofit organization for lawyers before I went back to school to become a teacher.  The reason I did it is because I wanted to do something different and more challenging.  Plus, there was a program offered by the state that paid for my tuition.  I was only responsible for my books and other fees.

• What if I would have married my college sweetheart?  I loved the boy.  I saw myself growing old with him.  We were supposed to get married on August 28, 1998.  It was a mutual decision to cancel the wedding and the relationship.

• What if I would have paid more attention to my studies in college?  I went away to college because I wanted to get away from home.  I knew my sophomore year of high school that I would be going to Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL.  It was far but not too far from home.  I will admit that I did the basic work to graduate, but it wasn’t my best work.  I did party a lot and had a great time in college.  I guess I let it all out because I never did any of that in high school.

• What if I lived alone?  I am in introvert and enjoy being alone.  I’ve lived alone twice before and loved it.  I know I mentioned that my life brings me happiness but sometimes I am unhappy.  Taking care of an elderly mom and living with a sister with a mental illness is not what I signed up for.  We have some good times together but sometimes after a long day at work, I want to come home to be alone and to a quiet house.  

• What if I would have married my high school sweetheart?  I was madly in love with the boy.  I met him my senior year of high school.  I had never seen him before in school but apparently he noticed me.  After high school he went away to Camp Pendleton in California for boot camp.  We tried to make it work but finally called it off in 1991.  I was heartbroken.  Aren’t we all after breaking up with our first love?

The topic for next week – Ultimate Coffee Date with Coco and Deborah.  We hope you’ll link up with us!