Today was our first day back to school after break. News of Baby B broke to the Facebook and Twitter world over break and I had a feeling it would get to the students sooner than later. So, I decided to tell them today.
With my 1st grade students, I started out by asking if they knew where they came from. I don't know why I asked that. In hindsight, I could have opened up a whole can of worms with a statement like that. Anyways, the first student I called on broke the ice with, "I came from California." Not exactly what I was expecting- but hey, I have nothing against Cali. The 2nd graders acted much more like old, wise souls. They were so excited but had more advice to give than anything else. They are also much more concerned with the baby being born in the summertime when they won't be around.
For some reason I wasn't sure they'd even know what it meant. But I forget so many of them have had new siblings recently so they're all quite familiar with "being pregnant". The reason I wanted to write this post was so I could remember these quotes. Because they are priceless. Here are a list of the spattering of questions and comments I got in a matter of 5 minutes:
-Wait, a baby can happen that fast after you get married!?!? (my personal favorite)
-How did the baby happen?
-I always know when people are pregnant. I knew you were pregnant! I knew it!
-I've predicted (the sex) of five babies and they've all been right. They were all girls. Yours is a girl.
-Can we watch the baby be born?
-Can we name your baby?
-When my mom was pregnant....wait. I don't think thats ok to share at school....
-(after looking at ultrasound pic) THAT is in you right now?!!?
-My mom is a lactation consultant. You HAVE to talk to her...like today. She'll give you her card.
-Yeah, your belly does look like you just ate a lot of food. I noticed it.
Just some of the million reasons why I love my job.
Showing posts with label students. Show all posts
Showing posts with label students. Show all posts
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Worries continued...x2
No- we are not having twins...at least we don't think so! More or less my worries have now been multiplied by two. I've learned in the last week that the first trimester is the scariest, most unknown time in pregnancy. Someone close to me experienced a miscarriage last Friday at 8 weeks. I am only one week behind her right now and thats terrifying. Not to mention the countless other friends I've had go through the same thing. I can't help but think...its going to be me too. I'm a realist by nature when it comes to big things in life. I can thank my dad for that. I tend to look at the hard side before the fun side of things. A, however, is much more of an optimist when it comes to these things. He keeps reassuring me he has a "good feeling everything's going to be ok". Its one of the zillion reasons why we're perfect for each other. I think the scariest part about this time for us is that there is no official answer that everything is ok until around 7-8 weeks and even then I'm not sure we're in the "clear". We found out we were pregs around 4 weeks. So this pessimist has now had the last 4 weeks to imagine everything possible that could or most definitely is going wrong.
I can't tell you how many times I've googled something...anything thats happening to reassure myself or worry myself even more. This weekend, I had my first bouts of light spotting. Now, everything I've read has said its normal. My nurse practitioner has been amazingly responsive since Friday.....but of course overly precautious too. I went in for a blood test yesterday to check my HCG levels (pregnancy hormone levels). Its the same thing a pregnancy test checks for but it picks up levels on a number scale. Nurse told me, "bottom line is your pregnant. We just want to ensure its now a viable pregnancy". Well, thats reassuring. Not. I'll be going in again in the next two days for another blood test. This is to check to ensure my HCG counts are increasing....which would show the pregnancy is still active.
So now, I sit on pins and needles for these blood tests to go through and finally our first ultrasound on Thursday. In symptom news, I still haven't had a lot of morning sickness (hopefully this is something I'll be thankful for eventually), but am extremely tired most days. Normal routine has become to pass out on the couch from 8--9:30 to have A wake me up so I can drag myself into bed.
My job tends to push most of my selfish worries aside making way for a whole new bout of worries. We all- teachers and students- entered school yesterday with a new sense of fear. I can't stop thinking about how sad it is...tragic, really, that a place where so much growth, learning and love happens has now become a killing zone. Where at any time, some crazed person has the opportunity to gun down multiple innocent people. We had a second deadbolt installed on the outside of my door in the morning. I'm getting curtains over break to cover our windows. Our school is actively designing an emergency plan to act in the event of a gunman setting foot on our property. What has our nation come to?
Sandy Hook has made me step back and take a hard look at my job and the position I am in every single day. I am not just a teacher. I am a nurse, a caregiver, a parent, a healer of any kind of sickness you could fathom and a peacekeeper to 41 little ones every day. And so is every other teacher out there. Now, I'm not looking for a pat on the back here. I guess I'm just saying what I've been thinking over the last few days. On Monday, I had a student with a sore throat that magically disappeared after a hug from me. Then a student with an awful bloody nose with whom I stood over the garbage can holding her bleeding nose and continued teaching. No one ever sees inside a classroom to witness such things. No one can truly understand what goes into being a teacher every single day unless you are or have been one. I'm not surprised in the least those educators did everything they could to protect those students- including giving up their own life. Its what any teacher, including myself, would do.
If you have a chance, thank a teacher today.
Love,
I can't tell you how many times I've googled something...anything thats happening to reassure myself or worry myself even more. This weekend, I had my first bouts of light spotting. Now, everything I've read has said its normal. My nurse practitioner has been amazingly responsive since Friday.....but of course overly precautious too. I went in for a blood test yesterday to check my HCG levels (pregnancy hormone levels). Its the same thing a pregnancy test checks for but it picks up levels on a number scale. Nurse told me, "bottom line is your pregnant. We just want to ensure its now a viable pregnancy". Well, thats reassuring. Not. I'll be going in again in the next two days for another blood test. This is to check to ensure my HCG counts are increasing....which would show the pregnancy is still active.
So now, I sit on pins and needles for these blood tests to go through and finally our first ultrasound on Thursday. In symptom news, I still haven't had a lot of morning sickness (hopefully this is something I'll be thankful for eventually), but am extremely tired most days. Normal routine has become to pass out on the couch from 8--9:30 to have A wake me up so I can drag myself into bed.
My job tends to push most of my selfish worries aside making way for a whole new bout of worries. We all- teachers and students- entered school yesterday with a new sense of fear. I can't stop thinking about how sad it is...tragic, really, that a place where so much growth, learning and love happens has now become a killing zone. Where at any time, some crazed person has the opportunity to gun down multiple innocent people. We had a second deadbolt installed on the outside of my door in the morning. I'm getting curtains over break to cover our windows. Our school is actively designing an emergency plan to act in the event of a gunman setting foot on our property. What has our nation come to?
Sandy Hook has made me step back and take a hard look at my job and the position I am in every single day. I am not just a teacher. I am a nurse, a caregiver, a parent, a healer of any kind of sickness you could fathom and a peacekeeper to 41 little ones every day. And so is every other teacher out there. Now, I'm not looking for a pat on the back here. I guess I'm just saying what I've been thinking over the last few days. On Monday, I had a student with a sore throat that magically disappeared after a hug from me. Then a student with an awful bloody nose with whom I stood over the garbage can holding her bleeding nose and continued teaching. No one ever sees inside a classroom to witness such things. No one can truly understand what goes into being a teacher every single day unless you are or have been one. I'm not surprised in the least those educators did everything they could to protect those students- including giving up their own life. Its what any teacher, including myself, would do.
If you have a chance, thank a teacher today.
Love,
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Worries.
The end of this week has brought on a boatload of worries. In some ways, I know that the idea of being a parent has definitely not set in. And when it does hit me, it happens at the most random of times. Yesterday, 20 innocent children lost their lives in a senseless act. 20 children who's parents dropped them off that morning, kissed them goodbye and waved to them as they bounded into school to learn something new in the safety of their school and classrooms. 20 of those innocent, short lives ended yesterday, never to come home into their parents arms again.
My 2nd graders earned a behavior party yesterday. For them, it meant being able to watch a movie and have free choice time. For me, it was extra grading time. While taking a break from grading, I happened to scan through the news on my phone. I was beyond shocked and horrified to hear the news from CT. Stopping to look around the room, I was taken aback by the horrifying nature of the act. Here in front of me were 20 amazing, smart, beautiful children who still have a chance to live their lives. How could someone do something so awful? As I stood in shock thinking to myself, a student came up to me and gave me the biggest hug out of nowhere and handed me this:
Funny how things happen sometimes, isn't it? I like to think there was a reason she handed this to me at the exact moment she did. (Side note: students do not call me by my full name....first names are such a mystery to them that when they find them out it becomes really cool to call us by it any chance they get where they "think" they won't get in trouble for it. Sneaky little ones slide it in with a sweet book like this thinking I'll overlook such things.)
Its so sad to me that eventually, these sweet children will have to learn the harsh realities of our world. That there is so much hatred out there and so many innocent people do lose their lives on a daily basis. It was the first time I stopped and thought one day my own child will be in a classroom. And I can only hope that their teacher will do everything he/she can do to protect the my own child from the harshness of our world. Make sure you take a minute today, or everyday for that matter, to take it all in. Look around and see the good in what we have and what we have been given.
Love,
My 2nd graders earned a behavior party yesterday. For them, it meant being able to watch a movie and have free choice time. For me, it was extra grading time. While taking a break from grading, I happened to scan through the news on my phone. I was beyond shocked and horrified to hear the news from CT. Stopping to look around the room, I was taken aback by the horrifying nature of the act. Here in front of me were 20 amazing, smart, beautiful children who still have a chance to live their lives. How could someone do something so awful? As I stood in shock thinking to myself, a student came up to me and gave me the biggest hug out of nowhere and handed me this:
Funny how things happen sometimes, isn't it? I like to think there was a reason she handed this to me at the exact moment she did. (Side note: students do not call me by my full name....first names are such a mystery to them that when they find them out it becomes really cool to call us by it any chance they get where they "think" they won't get in trouble for it. Sneaky little ones slide it in with a sweet book like this thinking I'll overlook such things.)
Its so sad to me that eventually, these sweet children will have to learn the harsh realities of our world. That there is so much hatred out there and so many innocent people do lose their lives on a daily basis. It was the first time I stopped and thought one day my own child will be in a classroom. And I can only hope that their teacher will do everything he/she can do to protect the my own child from the harshness of our world. Make sure you take a minute today, or everyday for that matter, to take it all in. Look around and see the good in what we have and what we have been given.
Love,
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