So this will be the most random post ever, but I haven't updated on how the real life is going lately here. Things had been so busy that honestly Jamie and I haven't had much time to reflect other than the few moments before we fall asleep exhausted at night and ask each other "what are we doing here?!?".
We still have great days where we are in love with living here and all the amazing opportunities we have at our fingertips everyday. How on New Year's Eve (we weren't brave enough to go into the madness) but we sat in our apartment looking out the window as the fireworks went off above the skyline in Times Square at midnight. It was pretty cool.
Or how Saturday morning I woke up and decided to do something fun with Audrie. I got online and got two tickets to the musical Pinkalicious (her favorite children's book!). An hour later Audrie and I hopped on the subway, went downtown, watched an amazing performance (we just so happened to be sitting next to actress Caroline Rhea and her daughter), and then we stopped at a hot dog vendor before we caught the train back home. It just felt so "new york" and it made me happy.
We have lots of happy moments.
We have lots of not-so-happy moments.
Like when we cry tears of frustration at how HARD it is to live here. I've had several pity parties for myself centered around the theme of "I hate walking everywhere. I don't want to carry all my groceries five blocks home. It's COLD! I just want some peace and some quiet and not have PEOPLE crowded around me all the time."
We miss our family and friends.
We miss our church!
We miss our cars.
We miss our WASHER and DRYER!!!!!!
I know I haven't talked about my school much, but I can officially say that it's going good. (And if you knew how much I've cried over this job then you would know that is a big statement.) MOST days I really do like it. It's just that when I have a bad day, it's pretty off the charts bad.
I will tell you that I had my first evaluation with my principal a few weeks ago and it went AWESOME. Apparently he thinks I'm doing a terrific job and he would like to hire me again next year. Which is a big deal considering this school makes a bold statement about how they fire teachers every year who don't meet the rigorous expectations.
I have a ton of pictures and stories that I want to share about my students. I will get that posted soon. But I can already tell that I've been teaching too long in this inner-city school, because I've found myself wanting a pair of these...
I better move back to Arkansas fast!! :)
