19 Hour Day

I didn't post yesterday. That was like the first time I haven't posted in a day since December. Here's how the day went down:

I woke up at 5:50, got ready, packed my lunch, and hoped to be at school by 7:30 because I needed to use the laminator before we had staff devotions at 8:05 and I had some other things to do for prep.

I planned on grabbing something to go from the cafeteria and heading out. Well, when I got to my car it beeped at me and said "LOW FUEL" - so, that threw a wrench in my plans. I figured it'd clip about 5-10 minutes off of my schedule, but that would be okay- I'd still be fine.

Well, I grabbed a Mel-O-Creme donut (I only treat myself to unhealthy breakfasts on Fridays), and headed out, and I met up with a guy I haven't talked to much since I've been back.

If you know me, once I get to talking, it's hard for me to stop. So I ended up having like a 12 minute conversation with this guy.

Then I got to the gas station, and my credit card would not read on either pump. I tried a third time, and finally it worked, and then the pump was having issues. I just put in a very minimal amount of gas and took off.

Needless to say, I arrived at school at 7:57. (I'm always supposed to be there by 7:45 at the latest). I just rolled my stuff in in time to go to staff devotions.

The day, as they have been, was amazing. I did my first shared reading lesson, and we did "Jump, Frog, Jump!" It went so well! I was so happy with how it turned out. Shared reading lessons extend over 5 days, so it will continue into next week, but I was so happy with the attentiveness of my students and how well it all went. I also had math in the afternoon and read aloud time, and then the project time/getting along lesson. It all went well!

Then, after school, I ended up staying and talking to my co-op for well over an hour (again, I'm too much of a talker), and I got back to campus about 6:00 PM. I talked to Jennifer, and she always gives me a big hug and has the perfect words to say and gives just the right advice. She is amazing.

I needed to go to my co-op's house around 6:45 to pick up some things for Monday. So, I ate dinner right away, went back and changed my clothes, and then headed to her house. Again, we got to talking and looking at things, and it was about 8:40 when I left. On my way out, a friend called and said a group of them were getting together to go out for coffee in the city- I hesitated a bit- I had only been in my room for a total of 5 minutes all day and I was near the point of total exhaustion. But something in me said "Go, Dylan, do something for yourself. You deserve it." So, I went.

We ended up getting coffee and just sitting out on the deck in downtown and it was so peaceful, fun, and re-engergizing. We sat there for a few hours, and it rained, and it was just what I needed. I'm glad I went.

When I got back to my room, it was 1:23 AM. I nearly collapsed into bed, and slept straight through until 9:00 AM this morning.

I'm thankful for...
-An amazing school to work at
-The best co-op teacher I could have ever asked for
-Amazing supportive people like Jennifer in my life
-My parents who support me and always want to know how teaching is going
-Astounding friends like the ones I went out with last night.
-Finding more room in myself for joy every day. Seriously. Life gets better with each passing day. Each time I think, 'Life does not get better than this,' and then God has a way of amazing me and showing me, yes, it can, it will, and He is here to see me through everything.

Yesterday, I went non-stop from 6:30 AM to 1:30 AM (that's like 19 hours).
I wouldn't change a minute of the day. I learn so much and find so much joy even in situations where the low fuel light comes on and the gas pump won't work, because it meant I was on my way to my last day of the first week of teaching.

And it was going to be a joy filled day.