Happy Thanksgiving!

It has been a week - a week of good and a week of really, really bad (so bad, I can't even write about it.) 

We are staying in Idaho for Thanksgiving - we are so fortunate to have been invited to celebrate Thanksgiving with my co-worker Kelly's family. This is the first time that I am not celebrating with my family or the Hughs family, eek,

Last night we had a girls night with my other co-workers, it was a lot of fun we had pizza and went to a movie.  The movie theater here reminds me of The Valley theater in Portland.  $4 for an adult, $2.50 for kids - $1 popcorn - the entire event was under $20, so fun and affordable.  We saw, Free Birds, a movie about turkey's who are trying to avoid becoming the main course at Thanksgiving.  The hopped in a time machine and went back in time to the first Thanksgiving.  This movie was one of those movies where the adults spend the entire movie exclaiming that this part is taken from an older movie, and trying to figure out who the voices for the characters were.  While the kids were enthralled in the story.

Friday, my friend Kristin is supposed to be in Boise - we are trying to meet-up.  It would be so much fun to see her, her oldest son is one of my former students.  I love that I can still be friends with parents from those years.

I love living in Idaho!!

Little Dragon

I was inspired to write this poem about a student I had in my class a long time ago.  I wrote this while participating in the Oregon Writing Project.  It is funny how much a person's life can change in 4 years, the great part is the poem I posted below this one was also written at OWP and I guess I followed my dream in the poem.  I just have to keep remembering to live my life for me and Maggie.

Little Dragon

I see my father walk away,
his hand raised as he
loads the helicopter and flies to Iraq.
For me, my childhood is gone.

This dragon I draw breaths fire on the bad people in Iraq.
He will keep my dad safe, I think.

My mother is crying her tears can be
heard through two doors.
The noise keeps me awake.
I feel sad.

The dragon I see is kind, it loves my mom and protects
our house from bad, while dad is gone.
I worry.

The alarm goes off, I hop out of bed,
dress, eat, brush teeth, do chores and
I am out the door.

The dragon breathes yellow fire.
It protects me and watches over me.
I feel safe.

I'm a Poet and I know it - bwhahaha

I want my own story...

I want my own story,
I want my own excitement,
I am tired of living vicariously through others/
I am bored in my own skin,
How do I change?
Where do I begin?
What will I look like if I become someone else?
Who do I want to become?
I want to rebel...

Live

I still love Idaho and Maggie is back to loving Idaho.  My parents came at the beginning of the month and the transition after they left was rough on both Maggie and me.

School is awesome!  My tiny little class is amazing, I really feel like I am meant to be here with these particular children right now.  I love my co-workers, we have so much fun when we are together.  I  still feel like not being in an elementary classroom for the past 4 years was a detriment, it has been hard to get back into all the "business of educating."  It will get better.

Halloween is coming, Maggie and I are going to be Fairies.  Looking forward to our first real year of trick or treating, hoping that we can go to a few special events like Boo at the Zoo (Zoo Boise) and maybe do trick or treating in town on Saturday.  Then head to Boise for Halloween evening.

Sam the dog seems to be hanging there.  He stayed in Portland with my parents, he would not have handled the move well and we would not have been able to find a place to live. When my parents come over here though he stops eating - he has lost 10 pounds this month because they were gone for 4 days.  Poor old puppy.  His birthday is in December and he will be 10 years old.  Which taking into consideration all his issues is probably a long life.
 
We are bummed that we aren't going to be able to head home for Thanksgiving :(  first time ever for both of us that we have missed.  Christmas is only a month away and then we will be home.

I love Idaho

I am loving, loving here.  I love my job, my students, my co-workers, my school, the weather, Maggie's daycare, our apartment.  I love it all.  I have not been this happy in years.  I am meant to be here, right now - in this place.

I googled "Single Mom by Choice, Boise Idaho" last night, and a blog by a SMBC who lives in Boise came up - her posts were the first 8 on the google list.  I decided to check it out - maybe she ran a SMBC group from there or had a link.  In Portland there was a SMBC group where I occasionally attended events.  I love having the support from other moms who were in the trenches - but all of these moms had perfect children who were never sick.  This mom whose blog I read has been put through the ringer, her oldest daughter almost died when she was 1 from a systemic infection, her second child was born 90% deaf.  As I perused her blog I felt such a strong connection to this mom, like we probably would really "get" each other.  I did something I never do - I reached out to her on Facebook.  I am hoping that she responds to me.

I read this mom's posts and I realized that I was putting off having another child because I was scared that something else would happen with Maggie.  I realized that having another child is a gift to Maggie, a gift to myself.  I will never be rich, we will probably never go on extravagant vacations, cruises outside the country. Maybe, we will just be happy - have adventures, road trips to see family. 

What's it like on your side of the fence?

Is the grass greener?
Are there less weeds?

Are you lonely?
Are you happy?

My view, I see holes in your home,
cracks in the foundation,
the walls are starting to crumble.

Is the grass greener?
Are there less weeds?

Are you lonely?
Are you happy?

I hear the creaks and groans of the old timber bones.
Your house, don't look like a home.

posted from Bloggeroid

What's it like on your side of the fence?

Is the grass greener?
Are there less weeds?

Are you lonely?
Are you happy?

My view, I see holes in your home,
cracks in the foundation,
the walls are starting to crumble.

Is the grass greener?
Are there less weeds?

Are you lonely?
Are you happy?

I hear the creaks and groans of the old timber bones.
Your house, don't look like a home.