IT'S OFFICIAL!!!! I'm a new teacher at Barr-Reeve Elementary!! I am beyond thrilled for this opportunity and super excited to begin!! Now that this title is finally sinking in I am beginning to get very anxious to start planning lessons, decorating a classroom, and buying tons of stuff :) I will hopefully find out which grade I will be teaching on Wed. or Thurs., but I have a feeling I'll either be in Kindergarten or 1st grade. It is amazing how quickly things can fall together when only 2 months ago I felt like I had no direction as to where I was headed in my life. Now I atleast know that I'm meant to be here, which is right where I wanted to be :) God is sooooo good!!!

I'll be sure to post lots of pics when I get my classroom all set up. But right now all that I have done is a notebook full of pictures, classroom ideas, and books ready to be ordered haha! I hope August 10th doesn't come too quickly!

The Dash

We received this little book from my dad's funeral and I sat down to read it for the first time the other night... I hope you enjoy it as much as I did :)

I read of a mon who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend.

He referred to the dates on his tombstone from the beginning... to the end.

He noted that first cam the date of his birth and spoke of the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time that he spent alive on earth and now only those who loved him know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own, the cars... the house... the cash... What matters is how we live and love... and how we spend our dash.

So you think about this long and hard; are there things you'd like to change? For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough to consider what's true and real... and always try to understand the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger and show appreciation more and love the people in our lives... like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile... remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read... with your life's actions to rehash... would you be proud of the things they say... about how you spent your dash?

I fell in love with this little poem only because it speaks so much! It's so so easy to forget what is important in life at times :)

~JM~