Thoughts on motherhood, marriage, education, and life in general...

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I am a mom, a wife, and a teacher-librarian. I have four boys at home: Main Man (44), #1 (14), #2 (11), and #3 (7). Although they keep me very busy, I also look after a library for an elementary student population of 500 (give or take). I love my family; I love my job.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Thankful Thursday


This week I am thankful...

...that yet again, after our furnace shut down in the middle of the night, I managed to get it started again yesterday morning. I'm especially thankful for this because the temperature was -28 degrees Celsius outside.

...that I survived having my teaching observed by my principal on Monday. I know I'm a fairly good teacher. I've never really had complaints - at least nothing serious - from students, parents, colleagues, or administrators in all of my eighteen years of teaching. Still, I experience nervous shakes whenever I'm observed. One more lesson to have observed, and I'm done for four years or so.

...for books on CD. I've been borrowing them from the library and listening to them as I drive to and from work. It's so great! There are only 2 downfalls: my car CD player skips when it's really cold, so I miss the occasional word and phrase - at least until the car warms up. And I have to choose my audio-books carefully or I could make a fool of myself. I was listening to Mitch Albom's For One More Day, a story in which the main character is contemplating suicide and is taken on this spiritual journey to spend one more day with his mother, who had died years before. Well, as I mentioned in my comment on the previous post, I tend to be a weeper, so there I was, bawling my eyes out on the highway to work. Luckily I had a touch of a cold at the time, so when people at work asked, I chalked up the red eyes to that. Not sure what that trucker who passed me on the road was thinking, though.

...for#1's band teacher, who has encouraged him to join the jazz band. He couldn't play earlier in the year because the practices were the same time as his volleyball games. She needled him and needled him until he finally joined last week and he loves it! I told him it was an honour to be so persistently recruited by a teacher. He said, "Well, she kept telling me that she was sure I would like it, that jazz is in my bones, whatever that means." I think it means that she knows him very well.

...that #1 still gives me a hug and a kiss and tells me he loves me before he goes to bed. He's 12 now, and I expect that may stop soon, but I sure hope it doesn't.

...that when #2 asks what's for supper and I reply, his response is almost always,"Yes!" He is by far the least picky of the three.

...that, on cold mornings like we've had for the last week or more, my little car still starts. It's an amazing little vehicle.

...that when my blogposts are few and far between, as they have been lately, people still drop by to see what I have to say. I'm especially thankful that some see fit to drop off a little comment. Thanks, folks!

Have a great week.

13 comments:

Grumps said...

Mama - we had a similar problem with that furnace but it wasn't until we had already moved to Grumpsland and before the new owners took possession. I'll ask Grumpspouse if she remembers what we did.

Editor J here at the Grumps Daily had similar problems and spent a lot of money but nothing worked until eventually someone replaced the mother board.

Our old clunker, installed with the house in '66, still works, knock on wood though it's not too efficient. Before we replace it, though, I think we want to change the windows and put on new siding - on windier days, the house is much colder so I know we're losing a lot of heat.

Looks like GrumpsJr's plans for Provincials have been finalized - he's got a ride both ways and may be staying at his old coach's place - she (sadly) moved to Mentokville last year. Turns out he's qualified for a pre-world's tourney so has to stay an extra day. We will come in just for the day (23rd) as we have to go to a BabyGrumps meet the next day.

Will keep you posted as our lives seem very fluid for the foreseeable future.

Dino said...

well I am glad the furnice works again and that your son loves the jazz band

Library Mama said...

Grumps - Although I may not attend Provincials as a coach (because it's during our school break, most of our qualifiers are away on family trips), I should be able to see GrumpsJr compete. Hard to say exactly what life will bring around then, as #1 gets his braces the day before. Maybe the Grumpsfamily could join us for supper, depending on your schedule. At least our house is close to your location.

Katy - Thanks - yes, every time I wake up and feel warm, I say a little prayer of thanks. :-)

mist1 said...

Mom's heater went out over the holidays. I was sleeping in the basement. The carbon monoxide (it's not dioxide, is it?) levels sky rocketed. I have been blaming stuff on this since then. Did you know that a carbon monoxide exposure can lead to you making bad decisions? That explains a lot.

Library Mama said...

Gee, Mist, I never even thought of that. We better get a carbon monoxide detector. Then again, it is sort of nice to have an excuse for some of those decisions...

;-)

Library Mama said...

Gee, Mist, I never even thought of that. We better get a carbon monoxide detector. Then again, it is sort of nice to have an excuse for some of those decisions...

;-)

Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...

Hi LM,
Looks like your Thankful Thursdays are becoming highly meditative & reflective.
Studying philosophy by any chance? :-)

I really enjoyed this particular post. How awful the furnace breaking down & I wondered too what audio CD were you listening to at the moment. And if you were enjoying it?

with love

Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...

That was meant to be "....what audio CD you were listening to..." and not as I wrote. Silly grammar mistake!

Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...

I am making loads of errors. I noticed you talked about Mitch Albom but I wondered on hindsight if you were listening to any popular women novelists and also when you mentioned jazz, did you ever enjoy Dave Brubeck?
Sorry for the boo-boos. At first, I got carried away by the error and then forgot to specify what I meant. Yikes!

Big Pissy said...

We borrow books on CD from the library to listen to on our trips to Texas. Makes the time fly by!

Library Mama said...

Susan - Thanks to you, I will have a very respectable comment count for this entry! ;-)
I'm afraid probably the most "intellectual" audio literature I've listened to was Yann Martel's Life of Pi. Right now I'm listening to Janet Evanovich's Four to Score.
And when it comes to jazz, I like it, but I know nothing about it. I shall have to try Dave Brubeck. Thanks for the recommendation.

Pissy - Come to think of it, I think you mentioned that you listened to some Janet Evanovich on one of your car trips. She is a hoot!

Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...

Oh God, LM. ..I was so embarassed! next time, I'll leave my errors alone!
If you do come across a Brubeck, do listen to Take Five It has captivated my spirit from very to the present day and is probably one of his most famous hits.
You may remember it from childhood! :-)

Library Mama said...

Susan - This weekend I am on a quest - to find Dave Brubeck's Take Five. I'll keep you posted.

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