Well, my least favorite event has come and gone - Presidential elections. That time every four years when everyone is divided into warring camps of Democrats and Republicans. As an Independent, and frankly not that politically savy, I feel more than a little awkward. With work, church, and life in general, I'm posited between either extreme conservatives or extreme liberals. I don't think I know anyone who is lukewarm on this topic I voted for Obama mostly because I so regretted voting for George W. Bush. I am extremely bothered by Obama's position on abortion and hope he does not choose to pursue that at a time when our nation needs his leadership to focus on the economy, health care, getting our troops out of Iraq, and so many other things. While McCain's position on abortion fits my own, he is not adamant enough to pursue it in any way to make a difference with the current situation, and his positions on so many other things are in opposition to my own. Now my life is more peaceful, but I am in a holding pattern, watching and waiting. All I can do is hope and pray that I made the right decision and that Obama's tenous connection to faith will allow God to guide him in making decisions.

I have been absent from this blog for about a year now. While I have not blogged for long periods of time in the past, this particular absence was not just from blogging, it was from pretty much everything. Last year, I made a career change in an attempt to have more time with my kids and more time for my own educational pursuits. In my enthusiasm for my position as a learning specialist, I often allowed work to take presidence over my family. I didn't have quality time with my kids and I kept convincing my husband he should wait just one more year before leaving his job even though he had plenty of reasons to do so. After prayerful consideration (as prayerful as I could be when struggling with my faith), I took a high school teaching job. The work load was twice what I had before. Ironically, because I was teaching, I was unable to participate in my own children's school activities. Staying at the school until 5 to organize, plan, grade, clean, etc. became common place. My kids were with me physically but not mentally. I usually put in a movie or told them to draw a picture and be quiet while mommy was working. When I was off, I was overstressed and overworked with things hanging over my head constantly. I also decided to begin working on my master's degree last year, again, erroneosly counting on extra time since school let out at 3pm. I did not do as well as I would have liked and even had to request a lengthy extention in my Hemingway and Fitzgerald class. No time remained for writing, writing letters/emails, visiting relatives, or getting together with friends.

Over Christmas break, I began searching for positions. My search began on the PBCC website, and luckily did not need to go beyond that. I found a part time position as an English learning specialist at Lake Worth. I got the job, and after the 2007-2008 school year ended, I started working at PBCC. The job is perfect. I loved my work as a learning specialist in Belle Glade, but I spent too much time away from my kids. This is the best of both worlds - work I love without the long hours and supervisory responsibility. I've been working for about two months now and am very happy with the move. I've had time for my kids, extra activities, and friends and family. We participate in Tae kwon do with the kids 3-4 days a week and we're visiting my grandparents this weekend. I've also signed up for 2 classes this fall.

This summer I signed the kids up for Tae Kwon Do. Yes, even Faith. She originally wanted ballet, but I was leaning toward gymnastics. (She has enough pink frilly things without adding a tutu to the mix.) My search for gyms was not going as well as I had originally hoped since we're living in such a developed area, but Chris and I stumbled right into a Karate for Kids gym while waiting for or Duffy's Chicken Wings. We signed Dylan up for his first lesson and were happy that we at least found one of our kids an activity. He was very excited about his lesson. I was impressed by the instructor's focus on respect, discipline, and self-confidence. Chris, Dylan, and I all met in the instructor's office and talked about our goals. When I gave him a brief overview of what we'd like Dylan to be able to achieve through these lessons, he gave me an article to read that explained the benefits of martial arts to children with ADHD. At that moment, I decided no matter what the cost, we would sign Dylan up.

After the first week and all of our excitement after each of Dylan's lessons, Faith decided that she wanted to join, too. (O.K. Mild coercion may have occurred. There are lots of girls involved, and plenty her age. Plus, how convenient is this? They'll be in the same class.) I was nervous about her level of enthusiasm, but she jumped right on board. (Literally! For some reason she was really bouncy.) She had her first lesson, and once again, I was impressed with the instructor's personalization of the lesson. He focused on all of the things he focused on with Dylan, but this time he emphasized focus and self-discipline rather than self-confidence. He had her pegged as soon as she bounced into the room!

They both have now been taking Tae Kwon Do for about three weeks. Now here is the most unusual development about this whole thing - Chris and I signed up for lessons, too! Chris took Tae Kwon Do in high school, so he would become all nostalgic every time we walked into the building. It didn't take long for him to sign on the dotted line. It took me a little longer. Dylan comes by his self-consciousness honestly. I had to make sure that other adults took lessons, that there were other women besides teenage blackbelts in the class, and that the level of fitness required would not be too high for me. Eventually, I joined the bandwagon. I've had three lessons so far - only one of which kicked my butt and put me out of commission for a few days. Now, in addition to our individual benefits from participating in martial arts, we will benefit as a family. "The family that kicks together sticks together."

Sad news. A good friend died on Tuesday. She and I have been working together every Friday for the past three years, and during that time she became a sort of mentor to me. Even though she was a bit older than I, we related on so many levels. We talked about everything from the latest episode of Lost to Kafka's The Metamorphosis. She guilted me into paying more attention to politics. She also gave me advice on traveling and finances. She encouraged me in my educational endeavors and even wrote a letter of recommendation to FAU when I applied to grad school. Some of our favorite discussion topics included Douglas Adams, Jasper Fforde, computers, Brad Pitt, Netflix subscriptions, Tivo/DVR, our current classes, travel destinations, elder hostiles, cats, religion, the library book club, volunteer work, and future plans. I don't know if you can ever truly be prepared for a person's death, but this was very unexpected. She had a bit of a respiratory problem due to years of smoking. She coughed a lot and would get out of breath easily, but she lived such a full life that she never seemed sick. I just saw her on Monday, and I was in such a rush to do nothing important. I wish I had slowed down like we do on Fridays and just sat down for a long conversation. We grabbed a few snippets here and there, but my last memory with her was my rushing out the door to grab lunch. Sometimes I can't believe she's gone and other times I'm overwhelmed by the truth of it. I'll miss her tremendously.

Chris accepted a teaching position, also. He'll be teaching computers. Unfortunately we're not at the same school, but our schedules will be very similar. I'm very excited about the move back to West Palm. The Glades has many charming qualities beneath its rough appearance, but the roughness is still there. It seems like the place is overcome with death and violence. Yes, there are good things about the area that I will miss, but I am not sorry to go.

I just signed a contract to teach 10th grade English in West Palm. While I've enjoyed my time hear at PBCC, I have not enjoyed the amount of time it takes away from my family. I've grown into my supervisory role here, and enjoy working with the tutors, scheduling them, and training them; however, dealing with payroll issues over which I have no control is a responsibility I will gladly hand over to someone else. I'll miss the friends I've made these past few years, but I will be glad to take a little break from politicking and actually focus on just teaching the subject I love and bonding with the students. No more chairing committees or participating in huge events. At least for the time being. Although, I have to admit, some of the committees were enjoyable. I'm also proud of my accomplishments while working here. Someday I plan to return to teaching at the college level, but right now I need to focus on my family and our own education. I'm starting grad school in the fall, and Chris is taking classes in IT, so I need to have time for that, as well. Well, wish me luck!