Day 98 & 99 People

Day 98
I'm back!
I was back home in Wisconsin,
in the rinky-dink little town I described to you earlier.
As you know,
my parents have no T.V. and NO INTERNET!
What a concept! ;)
I planned a trip to the local library to talk with you,
but all the computers in the library AND police dept. were down.
Can someone explain this?
Only a town of 2,000 people can get away with this madness!

So, let's fill you in... Day 98.
Parent-teacher conferences.
From 8am-8pm.
What a day!
I actually had a lot of free time,
as my school does not have a lot of parent support
(I teach in a low-income, high-crime & gang-infested community)...

I'm a very motivated person,
and when I get started on a project
(especially organizing/filing/etc)
I get "in the zone."
Does this ever happen to you?
If so, you know how hard it can be to break away,
especially if you haven't reached your goal.
Well, with 12 hours of relatively "free" time,
I was getting a lot done!
But then people started stopping in to chat,
or wanted me to stay longer at lunch and just veg.
My claim?
Choose people over tasks.
At times it took quite a bit of discipline,
but it was so rewarding to connect with people!

Lesson:  remember WHO is really important

Day 99
Two claims.
Didn't mean it to be that way;
just happend.
The first, the main one,
was to call a specific girl friend
(who left me a message about a month ago...
and that I haven't chatted with in literally a year)
and catch up on her life.

Very late that night I had another opportunity--
claim it or let it pass by?
I was laying in bed with my light out,
tears trickling down my cheeks.
I couldn't tell what was wrong,
but things between my mom and I weren't right.
There was tension.
Shortness.
I felt bad for not being patient.
I felt hurt that she didn't react to me in her normal, gentle way.
A decision was to be made.
Fall asleep, hurt and frustrated, and hope it goes away?
Or talk it out.
I knew which one was easier.
But we all know that "easier" isn't always "better."

I found myself calling to her.
She came in and turned on the light.
The conversation ended with laughter and smiles.
I slept soundly.

Lesson: don't let the sun set on your hurt