While rain doesn’t seem blog worthy, it is if you live in southern California. It has literally rained nonstop from the time I woke up (5:00 am) until the time I got home from work (4:30 pm). I don’t think I have ever seen it rain so consistently and kind of hard too. The rain was accompanied with some pretty intense winds as well. I wish I was inside by the fire all day! Instead I was in San Diego learning about Autism. Unfortunately, with the rain comes incompetent drivers. I don’t know what it is about southern California drivers, but any time we have any kind of weather all previous driving experience goes out the window! Fortunately, there was only one accident on the way home and it was minor. After a full day in and out of the rain I am now at home in my sweats watching girly TV in front of the fire. Feels good!

Now that I have recovered from my food coma, I can blog about our Thanksgiving. We spent the day with my parents in Orange County. As with every trip to mom’s, we left with our pants unbuttoned and swearing off food! Thanks mom for not letting us down! We began the feast with warm appetizers and good conversation. We spent the afternoon hanging out just enjoying each other’s company. Jer and Katrina brought over their new malti-poo, Bella. For being brand new to the family she sure seemed to adjust well. She seems like she will be a lover for sure! We rounded out the night with a traditional Thanksgiving Day feast with a turkey and all the fixings that most people have on this day. I seemed to be the only one who could force down a little dessert at the end. They all tried to graze on a pumpkin pie cheese cake thing (no thanks!) while I scarfed down some delicious chocolate ice cream!! Chocolate ice cream seems to be a regular food item in my life these days. :o) We headed home around 7:30 and only had a little traffic to speak of. In fact, the only traffic we experienced on Thanksgiving- coming and going- was due to accidents. I was surprised that we made it to Orange County with only a 30 minute delay and we made it home in our normal time. All in all, the day was great and I think we all had a good time enjoying each other. We have a lot to be thankful for this year and I try to remember this on more than just one day a year! I think we all should!

Today was a day of change, a day or realization, and a day marking memories. There are days in our lives that we will remember forever because a change has occurred. The change can be within, or an accomplishment, or change in lifestyle. These special days can be birthdays, weddings, promotions, graduations, giving birth, or a special reunion with loved ones. Today I had a day that I undoubtedly will remember forever. Sometimes a quiet reflection on all of the truly amazing blessings we have is all one needs to feel satisfied. I know this blog is a bit more abstract than most, but I think my goal is to reflect on life’s little miracles. Sometimes they happen without notice. Life can be a challenge filled with hikes up steep hills in the snow without shoes (isn’t that how it goes dad?). But what we learn along the journey is what shapes us. I think sometimes we are so focused on getting to the top that we forget to enjoy the view along the way. At this point in my life I am enjoying a truly amazing experience along my way to the top (please don’t consider this a metaphor for life and that when you get to the top that means you are dead… I am hoping for many hikes in my lifetime!) Anyway… I want to always remember today. To remember how I feel, what I am thinking, and the overwhelming love I feel in my belly. :o)

I spent the day yesterday with my mom and she treated me to some awesome Christmas decorations. I haven’t bought any new seasonal stuff in years, so I am way too excited to put it out. I know I have to wait until at least after Thanksgiving, but I am thinking that it might make an early appearance since we aren’t celebrating Thanksgiving here anyway. I have new dish towels, a table cloth, candy jar, and candles, candles, and more candles! I can’t wait to get the old stuff out, dust it off, and consolidate it with the new stuff! The weather might be in the 70s and close to the 80s by Thanksgiving, but I still feel the Christmas season coming and coming in full effect!

As we all know one of the major benefits of being a teacher is the vacation time. Now, let’s not go overboard and start saying ‘oh it must be nice to be a teacher because you get all kinds extra vacations!’ Yes, it is nice, BUT it is well deserved. It is a very taxing task to teach children. We don’t just teach language arts and math; we actually wear many hats in our profession! We are teachers, mothers, counselors, nurses, therapists, friends, mentors, and coaches. Now with all that said, it is truly an amazing job and I wouldn’t change it for the world. You might have to remind me of this on several occasions: Halloween, the day before Thanksgiving/Christmas break, day before Spring Break, and the last day of school (not to mention any holidays that happen to fall on school days!). Next week I get the whole week to relax and catch up on Tiff-time. Yes, we all know how precious personal time can be…. especially when things are hectic at work! During the week off I will try not to think of the IEPs I need to write, the assessments I need to do, and the 30 report cards I need to write by Dec. 9. Yes, I will take this week to do me and gear up for a hectic remainder of 2009. I will always remember that I am thankful that I have this amazing opportunity to shape the minds of our youth!! You can ask a teacher what she “does” and she will respond with what she is… a teacher!

Moral of the Blog- Everyone deserves a little Thanksgiving-week-off!!