BEAUTY FOR ASHES

In 2009, the first movie Julius & I watched together was Disney's "Up." Our friendship and, eventually, relationship were guided by themes from the movie: "adventure is out there," "cross my heart," and "no backing out." On March 28, 2015, the love of my life surprised me with an UP-themed wedding proposal. The day was planned as a simple photoshoot with our good friend, Roy. (...or at least this is what I thought.) My now-fiancé said, "Let's walk to the hills and do the scene where Ellie and Carl have a picnic and look at the clouds." When I turned the corner and faced the hills, my family and closest friends were there to greet me, with balloons in hand. The rest is history. And the rain was magical, too. Happily ever after started that day, but our adventure has just begun. I love you, Julius! "You and me... we're in a club now." 💙🎈💍

tossing & turning at 3am. here were my thoughts: here's to those who work in a classroom with no air conditioning-- who are forced to teach over the roaring sounds of electric fans & students complaining about how hot it is (as if you controlled the weather). here's to those who spend what little they have & give their own lunch away to feed hungry students. heres to those who tame their bladders & plan their bathroom breaks strategically because you can't leave 25 little bodies alone. here's to those who give up recess-- which, by contract is intended for teachers, not students, to have a "break"-- to help students catch up. here's to those who work way beyond a typical 8-hour workday-- who come in early & leave late to coach after school sports or facilitate after school tutoring (oh, & not getting paid for any of those services). here's to those who step up to the plate to serve as other titles of leadership & aren't appreciated by those they are serving. here's to those who don't leave campus until 5pm or later just to get home & work, grade, or plan before even thinking about eating dinner or relaxing. here's to those who deal with disgruntled parents & guardians who blame you for their child's misbehavior or academic neglect & expect you to fix it. here's to those who are surprised that their brain hasn't exploded yet with all the worrying & thought processing going on in there. here's to those who are upset with their College of Education who taught them little about what it's like to be a real educator & didn't prepare you for what you were getting into. here's to those whose mantra is, "fake it til you make it!" even with years of experience. here's to those who are living paycheck to paycheck because the money that should be rightfully budgeted is being dispersed to more "important" services. here's to those who rarely hear a "good job!" but instead hear, "do more! do this! you're not doing enough!" here's to those who have chosen a profession that is ridiculed, unappreciated, & overlooked. here's to those who are told, "well, at least you have summers off!" as if that was a true statement. here's to those who never get a real weekend to enjoy, because there's ALWAYS something to do or prepare for... or a parent to call. here's to those who are worried about statewide testing which really only tests the teacher & not the student, since students are not held accountable to their score. here's to those who are evaluated by outside factors heavily dependent upon student motivation & emotions (because kids are reliable sources, right?). here's to those who are burdened with the secrets and stresses of teenagers, & the responsibility of playing both teacher & Mom/Dad since kids don't trust anyone but you. here's to those who lose sleep worrying about students who have a tough home life & realizing there's nothing you can do but pray. here's to those who do all of this... every single day, without wavering, because they know that no one else can/will. here's to those who debate if they're even happy anymore, but live it out anyway because the fruit of labor is always sweeter than the current circumstance. here's to those who do what only superheroes are capable of... here's to those who teach.