Because I Had Children

I've been reading more lately (self care) and I wanted to share my reads with you (I'm also leaving reviews on some sites for the authors too).  The Bookseller of Daschau by Shari J. Ryan I loved this book. She was able to weave two stories into one and I'm always captivated by a writer's ability to do that. Germany, 1940 - Matilda and Hans are young and discover they are in love, unfortunately, all Jewish people are being taken from their homes. In an attempt to protect Hans, she hides him in her closet until the safety of their own family makes Matilda's parents choose their own safety and Hans is taken away. Sadly, that's not the end of Matilda's suffering. In America, 2018, Grace has found out she has inherited a bookstore in Dachau, Germany but has no idea who has given it to her. She drops everything and travels to Germany and the story unravels. Ryan did a great job of keeping me on the edge of my seat at every chapter. I loved the hope and love that ...

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Find out what it means to me." - Aretha Franklin "You don't have to find out, I'll tell you what respect means to me." -Stacy Johnson There's a part of me that longs for the days when my parents had me call anyone older than me by Mr or Mrs., Aunt or Uncle (even if they were a distant cousin), Coach, Bishop, Your Honor, etc.  When I address my students, I expect them to refer to me as Mrs. Johnson or Mrs. J. I even mention it to them when they call me on the phone, "Hello, this is Mrs. Johnson" or when I sign my email, it's "Mrs. J" I deserve that. I'm still boggled when a student will get on a google meet and say, "Hello Stacy!" My brain is like, "You are 15 years old!" I've earned this title of respect. I called all adults older than me at church with the title of Sister or Brother in front of their last name. That's just what we did. When Iwas an adult, I remember playing on a Tue...

Anny came home from school the other day and told us that in one of her classes, the teacher asked then to come up with a personal motto, something that they live by. This was hers: Take life by the throat and scream at it with the colors of your life.  Pretty impressive, right?  Then, I asked her what she thought my motto would be and she she said I had a few:  If it gets used up, it becomes garbage. Throw it away. Ummmm, ok?  I suppose that's something I say a lot, but is that my motto? Is this what she is going to remember me for? But also, we should throw our trash away because that's being a good citizen. Then, she also added this one: Suck it Up. OK, we all know that is something I say and YES! It's true. You might be hurt, but rub some dirt on it and move on. Don't wallow in your problems! (note to self) But again, is that what they are going to remember me for? I've got to do better. You'd think after 29 years of parenting, I would have figured it out by...

I went to an all-staff meeting last week. The professional development was the importance of building relationships. It's my favorite part of my job, getting to meet students on their level and helping them succeed from that point on. It's one of the reasons I became a teacher.  We were asked to create an "elevator introduction" for when we meet people. It should include our name, our position and what we want from the person we are talking to. The owner of the company said this, "My name is Jim Lee and I have the best job in the world."  Hopefully, it causes the person to ask what his job is and from there, he can tell them about this amazing company he started to help people from different walks of life, all backgrounds and even a variety of countries to get their high school diploma.  I love my job and one of the reasons is, that from the moment I started, I have felt valued at work.  After a wonderful PD and news about ways our company continues to grow ...

Recently, my sister mentioned that her boys don't understand why reading is so important. She asked me how to explain to her boys, the importance of reading. Immediately, my mind came up with a million reasons and I needed to write them all down and then my other sister responded with even more great reasons and now I have so many reasons to share but not enough time.  And, since they hate reading, I can't make this very long. So, this is for you Jake! FIVE reasons why reading is important in no particular order. 1. Reading is a way to learn about new people, places and things.  My favorite quote about reading comes from George R.R. Martin. It was hanging in my class from the first day I became a teacher, he said,  “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.” I loved this article from The Curious Reader about how reading allows us to have all the feelings that our characters have even if we haven't experienced them oursel...

 There are lots of reasons I wasn't able to continue teaching at my high school and it had very little to do with any one person or the school itself. It was about me getting my life back.  When I started working, I had 5 kids still left at home. I know that I was supposed to take that job for a reason. I know I was supposed to be there for the time I was but...I'm not that same person that I was.  In the five years I was working at the high school, four of my kids got married and I had four grandbabies join our family. My priorities changed. I also didn't realize the amount of time I would spend at home with my own children would be spent grading, lesson planning, tutoring, worrying, crying and praying over all of them. I loved them all but the pressure of all that became too much to manage.  The pandemic made everything seem excruciatingly more difficult, especially when it came to the worrying and praying. I quickly became overwhelmed and I decided I couldn't be a...

It's no secret that I've struggled with my mental health for the last several years. I've narrowed it down to the fact that I get overstimulated very easily. Teaching is like being in a constant state of overstimulation and even though we get "breaks" from it, I don't think I ever spent one week not thinking about lesson plans, teaching strategies or the multitude of "things" teachers have to deal with, working in education.  When I was a teenager, I took a few days off of school about every 6 weeks. I just knew I needed to sleep. I went to school all day, even taking classes during my lunch hour and I worked 15-25 hours each week at my part time job. In the spring, I ran track. As a young mother I was fortunate to stay at home with our children. Nap times were mandatory and we did not change schedules because this mama needed some quiet from the constant stress of caring for all those kids. And those kids kept coming! After I had our 6th, I remember...