Another crazy week. Or two...

Maintaining a state of thankfulness is insanely difficult, and it has been particularly so for the past couple of weeks. I have had my car in and out of the garage several times, have found out that my current position is ending earlier than I expected, have been scrambling for a new one, and have had very little time at home in the evenings to reflect and contemplate. Naturally, I have found it hard to think, each day, of things to include here. And I didn't post last week, as I intended.

So this is not going to be a colorful post with images and positivity. It is more a celebration of the moments for which I've been thankful--however small--in this difficult time. I've found that in the days and weeks when I'm stretched thin, when I feel like time is such a precious resource and I simply don't have enough of it, I tend to be insanely grateful for things that, once I have breathing room, seem like no big deal. But they still deserve celebration, even if they do point to the difficulties that surround them. I mean to say, in some ways it sounds a little embarrassing to say things like "I'm thankful that I have hot water," because it points to, first, the fact that if that's worth mentioning, there must not be a lot else going on to be thankful for, and second, that I'm familiar with a life without hot water--which, anyone who knows about my first apartment, will know to be true.

But this has been a week (two weeks, really) of small victories as well as one semi-big victory, which I'll mention below.

I have to give a big shout-out to Chris, who I've found myself thanking profusely a number of times over the past couple of weeks. He went out of his way to pick up textbooks for me. He picked me up from class when I took the bus because my car was having issues (for the second time that week). He helped me cook and did dishes and ground coffee beans for me. These are small things, to be sure, but at the time, they were big. When I came home after working two jobs and then going to drop my car off/pick my car up from the garage, as pathetic as it probably sounds, the thought of washing dishes or cooking anything seemed like an unbelievable burden. He helped shovel out my car after all that snow, too. And mostly, he put up with my complaining all week.

I have to say I'm very thankful for my students, too. When they found out it was my last week, I got tons of super sweet responses. One kid who I nag constantly about not doing work told me I was his favorite teacher and asked if I could teach his class just one more time. That was one email I did not anticipate. It was bitter-sweet because it reminded me how much I'm going to miss those kids, but it still felt great to know I'd connected with so many of them.

And the big one: I got a long-term substitute position which will carry me through the end of this school year. I'll still have to look for another permanent position in June for the 2016-2017 school year, but at least this will get me through until most districts start hiring in large numbers. Better yet, I had the chance to meet with the man whose position I'll be taking over, and he filled me in on the students I'll have, the district/administration's attitude toward student discipline, and he shared lots of curriculum ideas and materials with me. I feel much more prepared--though I'm still a little nervous--to take over next week.

Here are a few pictures, though I don't have nearly 1/day--but hopefully that will change now that things have (as far as I can tell!) settled down a little.

A heartwarming email from one of my students, with the text in the caption in case it's too hard to read in the image:

Dear Hannah Lewis

I wanted to thank you personally for your kindness to me and my class mates.  I wish you many good years at [District] and many other schools.  I really enjoyed having you as my substitute teacher.  I wish that you could have been my full time teacher.  But there are many other years to come to see and have fun with you.  I know that Ms.[Teacher] is coming back but [no] one could ever replace you.  I know i should be saying that the other way around.  I hope i can have you as a teacher next year or that you come back to see me and my other students in Ms.[Teacher']s class.  It would be a real treat to me and all of the other students.  I liked you as a teacher because you were not afraid to let lose and have fun.  I liked that you acted like a student and had fun(In a Good Way).  I hope i can see you again.  Have a great rest of the year and an awesome Summer.

The Westmoreland Transit driver who got me to Pitt on time for class last Tuesday:

A picture of the snow that we had to dig ourselves out of. Chris did most of the digging--then got a cold! I've gotta convince him to start wearing gloves :-/

My much-appreciated partner in survival this week! He's looking a little crazy after shoveling snow for hours. Thankfully, this picture cuts out the terrible, terrible pants he chose to wear that day O_o;;

Is that a cat laying on top of the basket of clothes I just washed? Yep. But I can't even be mad--look how cute that fur ball is :P

First Week (and then some!)

I had intended to post to this blog daily. Obviously, that hasn't happened, and there are a couple of reasons for that.

First of all, dealing with the logistics of getting pictures from a phone or camera to my computer where I can comfortably blog are slightly annoying. Only slightly, but enough to get in the way, given my crazy work schedule. I know; excuses, excuses.

Also, I've found it to be a little bit more difficult doing the blog this way. I am not a person who takes much pleasure in objects. I sort of hate shopping. My clothes and shoes are not very interesting or personal. I don't have lots of tech gadgets or cool-looking jewelry. I am finding it hard to focus my gratitude on things that can be photographed. And as a result, some of my photos are sub-par.

I think of this as a learning experience, though. I will begin by taking the best pictures I can and maybe by the end of the year I'll be more in touch with the world around me and have a shred of talent when it comes to photography. We'll see.

But it's the 13th, and I have mostly done a good job of taking a photo for each day of the year so far. Here goes:

Jan 1:

I spent New Years with some of my favorite people: Chris, Danielle, Troy, and even got to see [not pictured] Merch and Mel. Danielle, Troy, Chris and I took a nice walk at the state park up around Wipple Dam. Can you believe how green it was on New Year's Day!? 

It was cold out, but I can't imagine a better way to ring in the new year than with great friends going for a walk in the woods.

Jan 2:

More memories of New Year's with Danielle and Troy. Couldn't ask for better people in my life. 

Chris looks cranky because it was his first day without a cigarette when I took this :P

From here on out, I'm not sure of which days each picture was supposed to be associated with. Guess I'm not doing that great of a job on the one-item-per-day thankfulness agenda. But I guess I'll just have to make up for it!

Dogs:

Chris's mom's two awesome dogs are a source of joy every week. Okay, and headaches, too, sometimes, but mostly joy :P Hanging out with Chris's family and their dogs has become a highlight of my week!

Camera:

One of the most unpleasant pictures I've taken so far, but I was able to pick up Chris's camera from the post office while he was at work, and he is SO HAPPY to have it. He's been playing with the settings since it came in.

Breakfast:

I finally sold my Keurigs and I have to admit, aside from being less expensive and more economical, I also really like the coffee from my French Press, which was a gift from Chris a couple of years ago. I also just really love breakfast in general!

Secret Santa Gift:

My secret santa at work, Heidi, got me a box of awesome healthy snacks. I think my coworkers have me figured out already--I love me some food!

Scarves:

I mentioned already that I don't usually get excited about clothes, but scarves are pretty much the best invention anyone has ever come up with. Who knew keeping your neck warm could make the rest of you feel SO MUCH warmer? Love it!

Real Mail!

I got an actual hand-written letter in the mail from a friend, which I very much appreciate!

Work Party:

This weekend was the work party for my new job. I'm just getting to know all of these lovely ladies and gents, but I already love 'em. It honestly is such a welcoming and wonderful place to work. It makes having two jobs actually kind of fun!

Teaching:

I got this chat message from one of my very sweet, funny students this week. I can't imagine doing anything for a living besides teaching at this point in my life. The students make the job SO awesome EVERY day. 

Okay, I'm not sure if I really have enough here, but this is a good highlight reel of my first couple weeks of 2016. I'm sure there's a lot more to be thankful for that I will have to include at a later date! 

I've decided that a once-a-week post is more realistic for me than a daily one, and I'm going to try and post on Saturdays. Look forward to more in the future!

2016 resolutions

As some of my close friends will know, 2015 was a bit of a difficult year for me. It started off great, but mid-way through the year I lost my job and had a very hard time remaining positive through it all.

Last year, Chris's mom gave us a Mason Jar labeled "2015 Blessings and Gratitudes." It came with slips of paper that we could use to write down things we were thankful for. At first, I was filling out one or more slips every day. I had a fulfilling career, a great relationship, and no real financial strains in my life. It was easy to acknowledge the blessings in my life. Then, after I came back from Europe this Summer without a job and feeling generally pretty worthless. I wasn't filling out many slips of paper.

The other day, Chris and I went through them all and there were hardly any from the second half of the year. Not much else in my life had changed. My income had decreased, I lacked job security, and I had to take on a second job to pick up the slack. True, parts of my life had gotten harder, but through it all is been able to keep my apartment, my car was still running, and the bills were still getting paid. One of my best friends was newly married and had begun building a wonderful life with her husband in their new home. Chris was a continuous source of encouragement and support and made me feel so much better about how life was going. I grew closer to his family throughout the year and good things were happening in my family, too. My brother finished college and got a job. There was still plenty to be thankful for, and noticing those things could only have helped me to feel better about my life, but I choose to focus on the negative.

My goal this year is to work on making the changes I can and to focus on things I can control. I want to be happy and healthy, and I want to make a positive impact on the world around me. In addition to changing my diet and exercise habits and to volunteering my time for causes I believe in, this will also require me to focus on the elements of my life that are good and wonderful. 

So I'm resurrecting this blog in an attempt to do just that. Inspired by 365 grateful, I will post one photo for each day of the year of something I encountered that day that reminded me how fortunate I am. 

Today is the 3rd, and I already have the first three photos in mind that I'm going to post, but some are on my phone and some on my camera. It will take some time for me to sort out the logistics of how I'm going to take and post these pictures. Look for more posts to come!