I'm out of control

I went to the doctor today. I hate going to the doctor. I avoid it all costs. Among the things I talked to the doctor about was my inability to go to sleep. Once I am asleep, I have no trouble, it's the actually getting to sleep part that's tricky. The doctor told me that my circadian rhythm was out of control! In order to get control I was going to have to "train" my body to go to sleep. The biggest part of my training, no TV in bed and no reading in bed. If I want to do either of those things, I need to do them elsewhere. I thought that was kind of strange because I always thought reading was a good way to get to sleep.

Another suggestion I just read: wear sunglasses in the afternoons and evenings (in the house) so you're body will think it's later. How crazy is that? Can't you see me walking around the house with sunglasses on all the time?

And, because the internet is the best way to diagnose all conditions I think what I more specifically have is, Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome. This is an excellent definition:

The major feature of these disorders is a misalignment between the patient's sleep pattern and the sleep pattern that is desired or regarded as the societal norm.... In most circadian rhythm sleep disorders, the underlying problem is that the patient cannot sleep when sleep is desired, needed or expected.

So, for all of those looking for proof, I'm not really out of control, I'm just not living up to the societal norm.

Now I think I'm ready

Just last week I was complaining about how quickly the new school year was approaching, but today I started to get excited about it. Don't get me wrong, I love not having any responsibilities, but it's time to get back to work. I spent some time with a former student today and I realized how much I miss being around the kids everyday.

I heard a rumor last week that this student was seriously missing me this summer. I also heard that she was going to be playing in a USFA Nationals Softball tournament this week in Mesquite. And, I also knew that yesterday was her birthday. So, I text (because I don't call people) her Mom to tell her that I wanted to surprise Kadyn at one of her games. Well, today was the day. I arrived just as the team was finishing warming up before their "official" on-the-field warm up. Kadyn had her back turned and I walked up right behind her and started tapping on her shoulder. I tapped for at least a minute before she finally turned around, but it was well worth it. She gasped, gave me a huge hug, and couldn't speak. It was pretty funny, I don't think I've ever experienced her speechless before!

During the game, her Mom told me a story that helped me put to rest some questions I've been wrestling with for the last month or so. A couple days ago they were out shopping and the lady at the cash register asked Kadyn if she was ready to go back to school. Kadyn very enthusiastically replied that she was very excited about returning to school. The lady was surprised to get such a positive response and asked her why she was so excited. Kadyn says, "My Mom told me that on the first day of school I can go see my fourth grade teacher."

Then it was my turn to be speechless! Another thing that I love about Kadyn is that she is a Baylor Bear fan through and through. Her parents are big time TCU fans and I totally saved her from the frog world! :) Over Spring Break we took a little trip to Waco to see Baylor and check out the softball team. Even though the game got rained out, Kadyn apparently had the best time. She came home that night and did this to her TCU Rocking Chair she has had in her room forever:


Today was a great day. And, I'm especially thankful for the reminder that I may just be exactly where I'm supposed to be.

The beginning of the end

I have to go to work tomorrow, and I'm not exactly happy about it! Either way, it signals the beginning of the end of summer for me. Let's have a moment of silence, shall we?

Ok, I think I'm better now.

In other news, I am very pleased to announce that after many, many, many hours I finally finished doing battle with the weeds in my flower bed. I pretty much hated the entire experience and should it get that bad again, I'll definitely be looking to hire someone. I'm going to do a little bit more work out there before I'm ready to share the before and after pictures. I feel certain that it's going to be just amazing! :)

Well, I better start thinking about going to bed because 8:00 is going to come pretty early. I haven't been somewhere at 8 in a really long time. We'll see how that goes!

I lost

The Nike+ Challenge Kristy and I were participating in officially ended last night at midnight. And, I lost. Here's the final results:



The last two weeks have seen me running way more than I ever thought possible, so, I guess maybe I didn't lose after all. Congratulations, Kristy! I'll get you next time! :)

Deep Thoughts from the Flower bed

Didn't there used to be a part of Saturday Night Live called "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy?" I remember doing a spoof on that in high school for a journalism class.

Anyway, that has absolutely nothing to do with anything. About 5 weeks ago my Dad spent an entire day pulling weeds from the flower bed in front of my house. He's just that kind of guy. The sad part is, about two weeks later when we returned home from vacation the flower bed had once again been taken over by weeds. My yard looks pretty nice so you definitely notice the crazy flower bed. I have been avoiding it because I kind of hate to pull weeds, and I guess I was just hoping they would go away on their own! :)

So, today I settled down next to the flower bed with some sort of gardening tool and began digging out the weeds. I seriously spent about an hour and a half on it and got about 3 square feet done. I could be at it for days! While I was sitting there though I was reminded of a book I've been reading. It's called, The Shack. The story is about a guy who goes through an unspeakable tragedy and returns to the scene a couple years later to literally spend the weekend with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. It's really kind of crazy, but interesting. Well, at one point Jesus takes the guy out back to show him the garden. The guy is amazed at how beautiful it is but notices one part that is well, like my flower bed. It's overrun with weeds and just looks bad. As they are talking Jesus is working hard to dig up that part of the garden and then reveals that the garden is actually his heart.

I began to think some more on that and realized that my heart probably looks a lot like my flower bed too. There's good stuff in there, but you almost can't see it because of all the weeds. The weeds being all the junk - fears, insecurities, unbelief, selfishness, pride, and on and on and on - that consume my thoughts. In some parts of the flower bed I even noticed that the weeds had literally choked the life out of the good plants. When I related that to my life, I realized that even this week, some of my weeds have started to take some of the life out of my good things.

I know that taking care of a flower bed requires constant attention, when a weed pops up, you've got to pull it and all the way down to the root or else it will just come right back. I also know that taking care of my heart also requires constant attention. When I start to sense one of my "weeds" creeping up on me I've got to ask God to pull it right away. Because if I don't, it could be a really long, painful process to get all those weeds pulled once I finally let God have it. And, if I've learned anything in life, I've learned that it's kind of nice to avoid the long, painful processes when you can!

Tres

I can't believe that yesterday, July 14th, this little boy turned 3!

My favorite nephew (and only one), Will, is quite a guy. He's very smart and very funny. The only thing he wanted for his birthday was a piggy bank and some money. What three-year-old asks for that?

It is especially hard to believe that it's been 3 years since we jumped at every phone call hoping it would be news that he was on his way. I do have to admit that, to this day, if I know he's coming over I'll wait at the window and watch for him. There's nothing better than him running towards me with open arms and a smile on his face. I love him so much!

Happy Birthday, Will!

Advice

Three years ago when I began the journey to becoming a teacher, I was given all kinds of advice...

Don't be nice the first week of school. Don't eat lunch in the teacher's lounge. Don't smile too much. All kinds of crazy stuff. But, in all the weird advice I did receive two nuggets of wisdom that have really stuck with me.

The first, "fake it til you make it." In other words, pretend you know exactly what you're doing even if you have no clue. Or, pretend that you are really having an amazing day and that you love your students so much. Then, eventually, you won't have to pretend anymore. I don't feel like I've done too much "faking" it in my short teaching career, at least with the liking the students part, but this advice has remained steadily in my mind.

The other, "make it a game, even if it's not." I think you could probably say that I live by this one. We make a game out of walking to lunch, taking a restroom break, you name it, it can be a game - even if it's really not!

Anyway, the point is, I have found that not only does the "game" mentality work on the kids (it keeps them focused and gives them little time to make a wrong choice), it totally works on ME! I'm just a touch competitive, just a little tiny bit. :)

As you are probably well aware, I've been running for a couple months now. I have been loving my NIKE+ iPod thing and all that comes with it. Well, one of the neatest things you can do is challenge people all over the world - or just your friends - to run the most miles, run the most often, run the fastest, burn the most calories, etc. You name it, you can challenge someone to do it. This week I entered my first challenge against 30 other runners. I am currently in 8th place, which I'm pretty happy with. I found myself a little more motivated to push myself and get more miles in, but really I just didn't want to finish last. :)

I also entered another challenge this week that has found me pushing myself to even more miles. My good friend Kristy and I are challenging each other to run the most miles in 14 days. I believe we are 6 days in and while I'm behind at the moment (and will probably remain), I have never had more fun enduring such extreme torture! I'm totally motivated to run everyday and for longer periods of time.

I did 5.25 miles yesterday along the Trinity River that left my legs in not so good shape today, but I made myself at least do something tonight. While I was enjoying a brief run around the block, this verse came to mind:

"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed."
Ecclesiastes 4:9 (NLT)

And, while I'm not exactly sure that making a game out of running was what King Solomon had in mind when he penned that so many years ago, it is totally true for me. We'll probably both hate running by next Monday but we'll have had two weeks of lots of miles! Thanks for playing along Kristy!

Whoa

I have finally surpassed the 50 mile mark! I ran 4.25 miles tonight for a mileage total of 50.06 miles. It has taken 25 runs and 11 and half hours of my life!

Not only did tonight's run put me over 50 miles, it was also my longest run to date, and my fastest 5k. Here's it is:



If you would have told me a couple months ago that I would be running 3 to 4 miles a day I probably would have laughed in your face. But, I can honestly say now that I love it and I may even be a little obsessed!

Where did this week go?

I'm still having a little trouble with the speed at which this summer is flying by! And, it seems I can go days with nothing to blog about and then all of a sudden there are several things.

First of all, and most importantly, I want to wish my Dad a very Happy Birthday today! I'm sure he would be happy for me to report that he has officially made it to the big one, 50! We started the day with our little birthday tradition, the Waffle House! I don't really remember why or when it started, but he takes me on my birthday and I take him on his birthday. So, Happy Birthday Dad! Thanks so very much for all you do for me! Love you!

Secondly, I had a very enjoyable 4th of July with lots of fun, lots of fireworks, and lots of friends. I did notice yesterday that many people are confused about the significance of the 4th of July. I did a little research and found it all quite interesting.

Traditionally, the 4th of July celebrates the birth of the United States as an independent nation. I guess the confusion comes from how you define "birth."

On July 4, 1776 the Second Continental Congress of the American colonists adopted the Declaration of Independence. The actual declaring of independence happened two days prior on July 2, 1776, and it took several months before all the delegates actually signed the document. There's no telling how long it took for the King of England to get his hands on it!

What is even more interesting is that the fight for independence (American Revolution) actually began in April of 1775 with Paul Revere's famous ride to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that the British were coming, and then the Battles at Lexington and Concord. The war did not end until 8 years later when the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783 and Great Britain finally recognized the United States as an independent nation. I guess the 3rd of September doesn't have quite the ring that the 4th of July has!!

I also find it interesting that in one of John Adams' famous letters to his wife Abigail, he predicted that July 2nd would forever be known as the "most memorable epoch in the history of America." So close, John, so close.

Don't you just love history??