Beginnings and Endings

Tomorrow is my last day before retirement begins.  I've been very blessed to have had the opportunity to do something that I truly enjoyed for the last 34 years. I have had the pleasure of working with many fine educators and students.  There have been many changes in the field of education. When I first started teaching we were still using electric typewriters. My first computer was an Apple IIE and it cost my $1800. Averaging grades was done with a calculator and grades were handwritten onto report cards. High tech at the time consisted of an overhead projector, a tape recorder and a filmstrip projector. Movies were shown using a reel to reel projector. I jumped at the chance when it became available to use an electronic grading program that would keep track of student grades and even average them. Since I taught language arts for many years, I was thrilled to be able to incorporate word processing into my instruction. The Internet, Web2 tools, LCD projectors, Distance Learning, and Smartboards are now used routinely in the classroom. Education doesn't end with a particular grade or a diploma. It is instead a lifelong process. Master teachers know this and are constantly learning and looking for ways to improve their classroom instruction and engage students in this process.
I'm choosing to look at retirement, not as an ending, but a new beginning. I'm excited about the opportunity to explore other interests. I like this quote, "Retire from work, but not from life." I'll be sharing with you my adventures in retirement on this blog so stay tuned.

It's Snowing

Actually it's a beautiful day here in central Ohio. If you look closely at the pictures (click on them to enlarge) you will see wads of cotton floating around. We have a cottonwood tree at the edge of our yard and it's a sure sign that spring is here when the cotton starts flying. As I look out my family room windows it looks like it is snowing. This year the tree is loaded. You can't sit outside on the patio or you will soon be covered in cotton.  Yesterday my husband mowed the yard and the flower beds were freshly mulched, and it was looking picture perfect. Now everything is covered in cotton. Thank goodness this only last a couple of weeks and then I can start enjoying the back patio. For now, you will find me on the front porch enjoying this glorious weather we are having.

Summer Reading

Just a week and a half and school is out. I've already started lining up my summer reading plans. I plan to make reading a daily ritual in retirement. I'm looking forward to sitting on the patio, sipping ice tea, and reading. Here's a list of what I have planned:

1. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
2. Belong to Me
3. Hannah's List
4. The Help
5. The Shadow of Your Smile
6. Firefly Lane
7. Circle of Quilters
8. The Time Traveler's Wife
9. Catching Fire
10. The Walk
11. Love in the Time of Cholera

Giddy with Excitement

I'm swamped with work, but I'm giddy with excitement. In two weeks (8 school days) I will be retired. Recently I was asked what some of my most memorable moments of teaching were. Working with students has been very rewarding and helping students develop the love of reading has been the most rewarding. The ultimate reward was when students came into my classroom or the library and told me they really liked the book I recommended and asked me if I could find them another good book. Students would often ask me if I had read every book in the library. I didn't read everyone, but I did read a lot of them. I knew early on that if I was going to impart my own love of books to the young people I worked with, then I'd have to read books that were at their level. I will continue reading children's books and young adult books, but I do have a stack of adult novels waiting on me.

I'm looking forward to pursuing other interests. I would like to take some quilting classes and digital scrapbooking classes. I plan to continue working with young people. I plan on doing some volunteer work at a middle school close to where my husband and I will be moving. Sharing my love of books with my granddaughter and grandbaby #2 (due in November) will also be on my list of things to do.

Trash to Treasure

Many years ago my mother-in-law was going to throw away this chair. I wish I had a before picture. Caning has now been put in the seat and back. When I rescued it, there were two gaping holes. My mother-in-law said someone in the family had decided to use this chair to make their own portable potty chair. I can't even imagine why anyone would want to do that. This chair has beautifully carved woodwork. I brought the chair home and put it in the attic, thinking that I'd figure out how to restore it.  Well that was about 15 years ago.  Recently my parents had a friend of theirs cover the holes with caning. Now it's beautiful and sits in my entryway. I just wish my mother-in-law who is now deceased could see how what was once destined for the trash is now a family treasure.

Preserving Memories

Do you have your photos stored in boxes or digitally stored on your computer? I'm guilty of doing this. I have been scrapbooking for about the last eight years. I have always done my scrapbooking the traditional cut and paste way. I've done several albums for my son and my parents, but really haven't done anything for my husband and myself.  I took several classes last year on digital scrapbooking from Jessica Sprague. Ali Edward and Cathy Zielske recently shared on their blogs a method of scrapbooking they have been doing. They used a three ring binder album and divided scrapbook pages that combine both the traditional cut and paste method of scrapbooking and also digital scrapbooking. This has inspired me to tackle the task of organizing my memories. I've decided that it's time to get these photos that are stored in boxes or on my computer arranged into something that I can actually look at and enjoy. If you find you have the same dilemma then you might want to take a look at the albums Ali and Cathy have created.

National Scrapbooking Day

Yesterday was national scrapbooking day. I'm on a mission to complete a scrapbook project that I had hoped to have done at Christmas time. Well, that didn't happen so now my deadline is Mother's Day.  I babysat during the day for my granddaughter and then spent the evening scrapbooking pictures of her. My how she has changed. I'm doing this scrapbook digitally and using Photoshop Elements. I just may make my deadline. I just hope my pages can be printed before next Sunday. I'm uploading them right now.

Here's a peek at a few of the pages I did.