Lately, I've noticed an abundance of negativity floating around. I think the weather is partially to blame (gloominess, gloominess, go away), but it goes beyond this. The negativity... it seeps. 

One of the many wonderful things about working with teenagers is that, for the most part, I really find them to be positive people. While they certainly have their moments (like the serious eye rolls I got today when I informed my students that, GASP, they have to take NOTES while reading Huck Finn), they tend to see the sunny side of things. I value that more than I could probably express to them. 

The major culprit as of late? Facebook. Seriously, people, what is WITH the negativity on Facebook? I get that we all have our moments, and sometimes we want to vent those moments, but I guess I come from the camp where Facebook is for fun and entertainment and pictures, not an endless stream of negative word vomit. Like I said, I'm no angel, and I certainly have my moments of negativity spewing, but it never ceases to amaze me just much negativity exists. 

The challenge that I'm undertaking (new season, new challenge!), and the challenge I'd love for you to undertake with me is attempting to be as positive as humanly possible. When I see negativity, I plan to combat it with positive thoughts, words, and gestures. Let's just try it and see what happens! For the next, I don't know, week, just try to avoid judgment, criticism, and negativity. And let's just see what happens. Because I have a funny feeling if we all just tried just a little harder, things would be just a little better. 

On why it's time for spring

Spring! Any time now! Really!

I know I'm not alone when I say I wish spring would hurry up and get here. Technically, spring starts tomorrow. But when the high temperature for March 20 is a blustery 25 degrees (with lake effect snow, mind you), I call foul. While I hate to complain, I really do think it's time for winter to end. 

I would certainly love to have some warmer weather, but really, I'm ready for spring because I'd like to throw open the windows, let the air move around, and clean the crud out of this house. 

I like to have an organized home. When my house is in chaos, I feel like I'm in chaos. But while my home is certainly organized, I'm not always the most thorough cleaner. I intend to be... but then I think, "I'll wash all the blinds next month," or, "If I can't see the top of the ceiling fan, it's probably pretty clean!"

I've been intending to do a top to bottom cleaning for a long time, but for whatever reason, it's been nagging at me lately. I found a fabulous cleaning checklist here that I intend to use for this purpose. I'm oddly excited about cleaning the house... like, sincerely waiting and hoping it gets warm soon just for this purpose (and, you know, the added bonus of warmer weather). 

I think at least part of me, consciously or not, is preparing for the inevitable moving in of my partner in crime, Dan. Whether it happens now or later, I want to make sure there is space for his things so that this becomes our home, not my home that he moved in to. Having the house clean and organized is going to make the transition so much easier, so, whenever it happens, I'll be ready. :) 

Time (is precious)

Oh, hello there! I've been trying to think of a great blog to write for a couple of days, but something has been getting in the way. Actually, EVERYTHING has been getting in the way. I feel like the universe has been one big giant time suck as of late. I partially blame Daylight Savings Time for taking away one whole hour from me this past weekend, but there's a lot going on. 

Lately I've felt like every moment has been scheduled. Everyone is busy. I know this. But the past few weeks have been insane. IN-SANE. I will spare you the boring details of my calendar, but it's been hard to find a moment to just stop and breathe. 

My fear at this moment is that this is just a preview of the next three months. I couldn't be happier about all the AMAZING things taking place (Europe with Dan and a visit to Lynny, my 30th birthday, showers and bachelorette parties galore, and standing by the side of three of my best friends as they marry their soulmates), but it really is going to be a marathon until the end of the school year (come on May 29!). 

There are moments, though, that do make me pause. Today, a student of mine was having a bad day. She is struggling at home, working a ton so she can live on her own, trying to be involved in school athletics, and attempting to not fall behind in school. My heart breaks for this girl as she navigates this insanely tricky course for anyone, let alone a 16-year-old child. Furthermore, she doesn't have time to run, which is the one major stress reliever she has. I feel like I can relate to her all too well. 

It's moments like this that make me realize how lucky I am that the biggest problem on my plate is planning weekends of happiness and joy. It's moments like this that make me want to hug my parents a little tighter the next time I see them and thank them for loving and supporting me. It's moments like these that make me want to be able to scoop up my student and fix all of the things that need fixing. 

It's moments like these that make me grateful for all of the moments I have... good, bad, period.