SRE Crew!

Blog #1- From teacher to.....well i'm not sure yet

Not-so-quick catch up- I have taught for four years as a second grade teacher. I moved with Ike to OKC and I find myself wondering what in the heck I am going to do with myself. I have said since we got the news that I am going to stay home and nanny. Yes I am still trying to convince myself of this. I have not ever known anything but teaching. What am I thinking? I have the chance to stay home, yet I am still hanging on to the small idea of going back at least part time. Why  would I want to go back you might ask? Because Sendera Ranch Elementary was my home. It was my life and I was good at it. It gave me the ability to act on the compulsion to always be in control (a trait that all teachers have...admit it). It gave me the feeling of being needed. It gave me the comfort of acceptance every day. It gave me the ability to add my personality into small bits and pieces. What is the part I will miss the most though? The badass teacher friends I made along the way ( a perk I have found about not teaching is that I can say badass without feeling a bit of guilt...badass...yep that feels good)! We were there for each other. Even if they weren't on the same team as me. Even if we weren't at the same school together.

I look back and see Wendy and I. We started together from the beginning. I remember going into her room and crying my first year telling her that I didn't know what in the hell I was doing or when I was attacked like a spider monkey in the classroom. I remember when Eli was born and the scare we had when we thought he was coming too early. I also remember meeting her and thinking that she talked really fast...I can now translate Wendy's language for anyone else. We have been through more together than most friends go through. We shared secrets and knew they would say inside the four walls. We just get each other....and I miss that.

I look back at this year and see Heather. Heather was the silent and steady one. I always went to her freaking out or raged by my very short temper. She would listen, shake her head, and give a few words of comfort/advice. She was the momma bird of the group. The one you could go to for anything. She was never stressed, never shaken, and could handle a pack of wild monkey children like no one else. Heather had another side too....one I seem to have brought out in her. We could be completely inappropriate together and know that neither judged. We joked about other things too, but those things cannot be discussed or I would have to kill you.

I look back and see Nicki. She was as loud and as outspoken as me. We were attached to one another (literally our rooms were attached) and we would often find ourselves coming to one another saying the same things! We were different than one another in many ways, yet blended perfectly. When I was shaken she would vent right along with me. When she was shaken, I was there too. The best part about Nicki is that she will make you laugh until you pee your pants. Her laugh is loud and contagious. I will miss laughing along with her next year and I know she will miss this Oklahoma white trash ;)

Now the last person I am going to write a eulogy on is Becky Bragg. She is my partner from the year before and my alter ego. I swear that if I came back to life as someone else, I would come back as her. We are SCARY alike. We can talk about nothing...seriously nothing. It is usually wildly inappropriate and would make most beleieve that we are both insane. I can call her and she will give me an honest answer. She will tell me when I am right and when I am wrong, even if she knows it's not what I want to hear. She gives it to me straight and I do the same for her. She knows me better than most. She knows that I can be a little crazy. She knows I cuss like a sailor. She knows my heart and my intentions. She know the whole me. If you don't know her...you should. She's amazing.

Small side notes about other memories I carry with me:

• Shea and her sweet notes just when you need them. Our venting sessions too.
• The third grade team at last years Christmas party. Y'all were freaking hilarious. I'm pretty sure Cheesecake Factory appreciated that we finally left.
• Kim and her sweet karaoke skills
• Megan and our math video "I love balls!"
• Jean and I at happy hour. Even if it was just us two
• Bev letting me vent...a little too often
• Cheri's voice when she reads to kids. It's pretty special.
• Sarah D and I at daycare duty...and happy hour....and out to dinner
• Michelle and her book....
• Suzie and her talk with me before I got married. Use your imagination.
• Jessica, Mary, and their hilarious convos with Sarah and I at the end of last year
• Hayley and her calling me every time there was a storm. I promise I won't let you die ;)
• Cyndee and I in the storage closet during training trying to be as modest as possible.
• Amy Morgan's dry sense of humor. I wasn't around it much, but when I was I loved it!
• Melissa Bufe's faith- enough said
• Merideth and her funny dry jokes
• Betty always asking about my family in OKC and genuinely caring.
• Tracey speaking up when we were all thinking it
• Lisa in staff development. She was fun, light hearted, and hilarious
• Emma for her sweet voice greeting the kids every day
• Amanda and I sharing looks in the hallway. Will we make it through the day?
• Courtney and her calm voice. She is quiet, but when she talks it means something
• Clair and our coffee visits in the morning
• Valerie on LSU days.
• Christina and her jokes that we all laughed at including her. She is a hoot
• Pat and the awesome art work she always stayed late to hang
• Charity and her stories at lunch. She cracks me up
• Jim and I at Fred Jones training trying to keep a straight face as we gave "the look"
• Jaime and her smile...ALWAYS a smile. Its contagious
• Frank greeting the kids as they came into gym and my comments of "run them to death" more often than not.
• Brandy and her kind heart. She is sincere and a beautiful person.
• Danette these last few months. She is wonderful and I love her opinions. She helped second grade out more than she will ever know.
• Jenn and her sweet voice on the Kinder website a few years ago. It brought me to tears. I only wish I had a voice like that.
• Delany and her awesome attitude. She was always up beat even when I knew it would have been way too much for me to handle so gently.
• And anyone else that I forgot...it was not intentional. I'm sure I have a crazy memory of us too!

I have several other memories that are flooding my brain, however I know I must stop typing an everlasting blog. I hope I covered everyone. My point is this: you all hold a special place in my heart. I am going to resist the temptation to go back to teaching for the sole fact that I am where I need to be. I am with Kinley. Plus, I hardly beleive that I would bond with anyone the way that I did with the SRE crew. You are amazing. Thanks for the memories! That is all.