Slacker!!!


Over the past few weeks I have become a slacker! My poor children have been out of school for a week but being a teacher my job continued to roll on yet another week. Each morning as I got them up, poke, and prodded we all hearded out of the house and headed to Nana's. Well they headed to Nana's while I went to work. I sat through countless meetings and got quite a lot accomplished. On Thursday, Bre in her ultimate wisdom, says to me, "When is summer going to begin?" And as I sat there with my hands gripping the steering wheel I wanted to cry, turn the car around, grab our swimsuits and head to the beach but being that I am a responsible person I continued the treck to Nana's house. Today is Friday and finally it feels like the first day of summer. It's almost 9am and the girls are still snoozing and the boys are lounging about in their room playing a game. I can't even begin to describe how nice this is. Don't get me wrong I love teaching but sometimes I wonder what led me to this path.

I know what led me to this path....Brian, my uncle. Brian is 42 and has Down Syndrome. He has all of the qualities that we "normal" individuals should possess but don't in most cases. He does not know about HATE and his love has always been unconditional. Whether I see him every day or sporadically throughout the year his love is always there. His life is one of constancy. Fridays are always grocery day and he then uses money he earned from the workshop he attends to buy a TV Guide then take his mother to dinner. He has a girlfriend who also has Down's and sometimes she will accompany them to dinner. It would be wonderful if everyone could live life without hate and unconditional love. He is the reason why I do what I do. Long days, lots of work brought home, and yes even forcing my children to spend a week at Nana's.
Today though will be a day of relaxation for my children. We will go to the library for the summer reading program and then take a journey to see my grandmother and Brian. My children will roam around her apple orchard and climb trees and just be kids. Sometimes we all need little reminders of our purpose her on Earth and reminders that tell us that our time here is limited. I don't often listen to country music but there is one song that I think sums it up perfectly. "Live like you were dying" We are all dying a little each day and it seems like a waste not to enjoy our time here. But it also serves us well to stop and reflect on where we've been and where we would like to go. Every day I learn something new whether it be from my family, my students, or my colleagues and it's nice to just sit here a reflect on my life in peace and solitude.

Thank you Warrior for allowing me to take a glimpse into your life! You are a wonderful soul and held in the highest regard.