Endings & Beginnings

2010 is coming to an end, thank God! It has been a long difficult year and I'll be glad to see it gone. Of course, like all of life it had the good and the bad. Some of the good has been "A wonderful trip to Florida" which included time with my granddaughter, a face-to-face meeting with a dear old friend, numerous adventures, and many laughs. Louie's diabetes is more in control and I didn't kill my boss!

If I learned one thing this year it was tolerance with a touch of patience. On the work site not only did I have to deal with an incompetent principal, but had a difficult class of students. Everyday the stresses were almost overwhelming and I got to the point I no longer wanted to go to work. This in it self was devastating because I love teaching and have worked hard to be the best I can in my profession. But, the silver lining is I've learned to ignore my boss and my students are showing growth in maturity if not academics. Some things are within your sphere of influence to change and some aren't. The wise person has to know when to fold and cut their losses.

My daughters have both put my emotions on a roller coaster. I have tried being the best parent I know how to be and I have questioned my parenting abilities to the extreme. My conclusion is a person can only do his/her best and when it comes to his/her children a person needs to remember that even our children have "free will." All the teaching and training given to a child is only a foundation to have a good life. That child then goes out into the world and has decisions to make using not only their prior learnings but also using the influences of everyday life. Also personality of that child influences their choices and their path in life. So consequently, a parent can only hope that a child makes more good decisions than bad. The only way to avoid this is to never have children, but then a person would never know the joy of parenthood.

Above are the endings and now for the beginnings.

2011: My Hopes & Dreams for the New Year
On Monday Sharon goes into inpatient rehab and hopefully will come out stronger. Becky is finishing up her program and will be re-entering a normal lifestyle. Liz will be finishing student teaching and will be entering the job market. Austin will continue his high school years and will have mostly AP classes. My dream for the coming year includes peace and normality. I no longer want to ride the roller coaster that 2010 has had me on and I just want to relax. Thank God for good friends that support me daily and a strong positive nature. I always see my cup as half full and without that I wouldn't have survived this long. My positive side says that when your at the bottom the only way is up. Now, my neck has a crick in it from looking up. Hope the terrain level out before my neck is stuck in this position! Peace & Love to all!