Is This Normal?
The chaos that is the KerbersArchive for random thoughts
The “last” class
Tuesday nights are y ISU class nights. Typically at this point of the semester, I am ready to be done with my class. You know how it is…no matter how great the semester has gone, there’s always that point when you’re just ready to be done with it all. Right now, I think a big part of that feeling is because I got way behind in my grading, so I had to spend a lot of time last weekend catching up on that. Not fun. I was looking forward to this class for one reason and one reason only; technically, this is my last class of the semester. We really have three more weeks, but two of them will be filled with student presentations, and the third will be the take-home final exam.
Tonight, though, really turned out to be an exceptional class. The newly hired ISU Library Program Supervisor sat in on class, and it seemed like she really enjoyed it. She was making all kinds of positive comments to me, and she added a lot to the class discussion. Afterwards she told me that she loved my teaching style and said that she could tell that I had a lot of expertise in the field. What a great thing to hear from someone in that position! I know that at this point in my career I should know that I’m a good teacher, but it’s always so wonderful to have that reinforced by someone completely unbiased.
It always surprises me to see how much I get out of teaching this class. I hope that the opportunity to teach more of them does come, because I really do love it.
We have a contract!
This afternoon our teacher’s union finally ratified a contract. Yes, we’ve been in school for something like 11 weeks now, but we’ve been working without a contract this whole time. Finally, our negotiating team and the school board resolved many of their issues, and a tentative agreement was reached. With this afternoon’s vote, the TA was approved, and I will finally get a raise!
The new contract isn’t offering much of a raise, but it is only a two-year agreement, which is huge. Hopefully the economy will be better in two years, so we’ll be able to ask for more than a 2% increase at that time. The other really beneficial thing for me in the new contract is that a curriculum chair will be created for the IMCs. There will be one representative from the high school level, and there is a good chance that representative will be me. The only person with more seniority than me is retiring in a year and a half, so her salary was locked in three years before her retirement date. I’m excited for this new challenge. We’ve been asking for district level representation for years, so this is a really great advancement.
It’s amazing how rejuvenated I am at work this year. The change in IMC personnel has made a huge difference in my excitement and enjoyment with my job. That makes me very happy…I sure hope it lasts! 
Ahhhh…
Today was seriously one of the laziest, most relaxing days we’ve had in a very long time, and I enjoyed it very much. Since we set the clocks back an hour last night, the kids were of course up super early, but we all laid around in bed watching cartoons for about 45 minutes before technically starting our day by getting up and ready for church.
After church, we came home and did very little the rest of the day. Both of the kids had a lot of fun working in their new Halloween coloring books from Aunt Theresa, and Ben worked especially hard on some sticker puzzles she gave him. Emma had a three-hour nap, which was desperately needed, and Daddy got a short nap in for himself, too. I enjoyed watching the Bears game without interruption for once. It was great, and they even looked good and won! We had a couple of battles over wanting more candy, but Ben didn’t beg for it too much, so I was happy with that.
It was one of those days where Dave and I look at each other, smile and say, “This is the good stuff, Honey.” The kids were in good moods and had fun playing with each other. The crying was at an all-time low, I think. Ok, sure, Emma did fall off the back of the couch downstairs, got a big lump on her head and cried really hard for a few minutes, but hey, no day is completely perfect, right? Overall, there wasn’t a ton of chaos in the house, and we all spent some really enjoyable time just chillin’ out together.
Welcome home, Mommy!
When I talked to Dave from Springfield last night, he told me that the kids would be very excited to see me today when I got home. But I had no idea how right he was!
When I walked in the door, I realized that the kids were downstairs with Dave. As I started down the steps, I heard Dave say, “I think someone may be home…” Then the screaming began. “MOMMY!” As I hit the basement floor, Ben threw himself at me for a huge hug, and Emma was soon to follow. They both came back for more hugs and kisses repeatedly in that first few minutes. That awesome reception surprised me. But even more of a surprise was how often the same scene has been repeated today. While I haven’t gotten any more screams out of the kids (not necessarily a bad thing) I have gotten LOTS of hugs and kisses and have been told over and over that they missed me so much.
I had a great time at the conference, and really enjoyed reconnecting several professional relationships. But nothing compared to today…coming home is always a treat, and this time it was even more so.
Parent/teacher conferences
Today was parent/teacher conference day at school. The kids got to sleep in while many of the teachers worked harder than they normally do.
While this is easily one of the most dreaded days of the year for most teachers, we librarians absolutely love it! Conference day is one that we get to work absolutely uninterrupted, and it’s so nice to actually get some projects done. We did have to go to a morning meeting, but it wasn’t too long and it was a small group of other librarians, so it was not bad at all.
Believe me; I remember having conferences all day very well. It wasn’t all that long ago that I sat at one of those tables trying to convince parents that their students were either doing really well, or needed to do a lot more to be successful. Neither scenario is really all that great. So these days, I try hard not to rub it in that we get the day to work on our own without dealing with parents much at all. Some teachers appreciate our situation, and others just whine about it to us. I always say the same thing, “Hey, they’re offering classes at ISU to become a librarian…you’re free to take them and then get hired somewhere so you can have this one beneficial day!” That usually shuts them right up.
Happy anniversary, Grandma and Grandpa
Everyone makes such a big deal over big, fat, round anniversary years. At 10 years, everyone I know goes somewhere together to celebrate. At 25 years, there’s usually some kind of get-together or party to celebrate. Then comes 40 years, for some reason a real biggie, it seems. I can remember my grandparents’ fortieth anniversary party very well from my childhood…it was a par-tee!
Well, this year is Mom & Dad’s 49th wedding anniversary, and while many people don’t think that’s a big deal, I have to disagree. They’ve gone through 49 years together as husband and wife…almost five decades, people! I can’t even imagine! And while I know that next year will bring all the fanfare with the 50th, I hope they know how much I respect and appreciate their marriage now, even though no one may be making a big deal out of it. When I talked to Mom today, she said that this was, “just like any other day.” But I have to disagree…a 49th anniversary is definitely not like any other day.
Thanks for everything you do for us, Mom & Dad, but more importantly, thanks for the great example you’ve set for all of us. We love you…happy anniversary!
Happy birthday, Aunt Nancy!
This year Aunt Nanny is having a little bit of trouble with her birthday. She’s hitting a round number (I won’t mention which one, but if you take 9×5 you’d probably be able to guess it) and it’s bothering her a bit. But I assured her last night that she is definitely the youngest 45 year-old I’ve ever seen! I swear sometimes I feel much older than she seems. I’m hoping that just has to deal with the fact that I’m still chasing toddlers. I hope so, anyway!
There was a time that the mid 40s seemed absolutely ancient! Now, though, they’re super duper young…especially since I’ll be seeing them all too soon! In all seriousness, though, Nance is truly young at heart, and I’m sure that she’s happier with her life every day. What more could anyone want?
Happy birthday, Nance. You’re the best sister I could have…exactly the same as me in many ways, but very, very different in others. I love our relationship, and I love you!
IMC book club
I did make it to school today, thankfully, and although I wasn’t feeling great all day, one thing helped make the day better. We had our first meetng of our new IMC book club today after school, and it was really great.
My co-worker Caroline and I decided to have our book club meet once per month. We both wanted to be a part of the fun, so we plan to close the IMC the third Monday of each month, and dedicate that time to book club. The students who were interested came to the first meeting, and they had the idea for us to choose a category each month, and have everyone read a different book from that category. Today’s category was Halloween, or scary books. We had a great variety of selections, and it was a really fun meeting. Even though the numbers were quite small this first month, I’m sure that interest will grow as word of mouth takes off.
As a side note, I read a Stephen King book called The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon for this month’s meeting. That book scared the crap out of me!! I even had nightmares one night when I read before going to sleep. I used to love all King books when I was in high school and college, but I am definitely more of a chicken these days. I don’t think I’ll be revisiting him anytime soon.
Next month we’re reading books from the 2010 nominees for the Abraham Lincoln Award. I’m looking forward to another great book discussion with some really awesome young adults.
Happy anniversary, “Is This Normal”
Today marks the first anniversary of my blog. I know that I have a few faithful readers, and I do think that’s awesome. But I never really mind when my reader stats are low, because as it was a year ago, my motivation for writing this blog is purely selfish. My hope is to get all of my posts published into a book each year to keep and give to my kids when they are old enough to appreciate it. I hope that someday they will cherish the stories and thoughts I had about our family and specifically about them. I know I could never remember everything I’d want to tell them, so hopefully this blog will do that.
The blog has evolved since it first started, and that’s one of the things I love about it best. In January I started the Project 365 section, and while I haven’t always been great a bout keeping up with posting the pictures, I have been diligent about taking pictures every day. I can’t believe, when I look back now, how much the kids have changed in just a short time. I’ve really enjoyed participating in this project, but it has been time-consuming. I’m currently debating whether I will do it again for 2010. One thing I have decided, though, is to try to blog about more of the mundane, every day aspect of our lives. I think that the posts like quotes of the day, or simple little comments from the kids are some of my favorites. I hope to include them more.
If you’re reading this, thanks for checking out “Is this Normal?” from time to time. I hope you’ve liked it, and will continue to keep up with the Kerbers!
Thank you, Christopher Columbus
We all know that there is a lot of controversy surrounding Christopher Columbus and his “discovering” of America. He, according to most accounts, was a bigoted, self-centered jerk who was only looking for glory as opposed to a man exploring for the sake of science or discovery. I can’t really say that giving him credit for finding one of the best countries in the world seems really fair.
However…that being known, there is still one day every year I absolutely love ol’ Chris. You got it, it’s today…Columbus Day. Columbus Day (or our first real day off of school) always seems to get here just when you need it most. The newness of school has worn off, and the first quarter is almost done, and the day-to-day routine has become just a little bit too routine. Then comes this glorious three day weekend, just when we need it.
Today I took the kids to the babysitter in order to have the day to “get stuff done”. I felt guilty about it, but I knew that it was necessary in many ways. I had a million errands to run, laundry to do, and I really needed to sort through the kids’ clothes to get all of the summer clothes put away and all of the winter clothes inventoried, washed up, and put into their dressers. None of those things could have been done with the kids here. So, I dealt with the guilt and set out. I did get all of the previous chores listed, and I even had time to make an apple pie with the apples we picked at the apple orchard. It was a great feeling to get so much done.
Although the guilt never did completely go away, today was a really great day. Thanks, Chris…I needed it!
