Write Much? Whirlwind

Yeah, I know that lately I haven't written much. You might ask, Much? I know, know, know. I haven't posted anything for a while. Maybe my blog should be Just Write Something Soon!  It is not as if I haven't been percolating and thinking of new things to write. I have had tons of things swirl in my brain. They ruminate on the way to work, during work, as I feed my dog, go to Starbucks, and then when I am just chilling.  The words are there locked in my conscious and subconscious, but why have they not made it from my mind to the page?  Do you really want to know?

I am caught in a veritable vortex called a new job. With this new job, I have to learn a zillion names, names, and more names. Remembering names is not my gift. I have my associations and my Spanish is helping me with remembering the names...at times. For example, there is a wonderful colleague whose name is Kanica. (I hope I spelled her name correctly.) I do remember her name from canicas. So when I hear her name, I associate it with children playing with marbles. I could also associate it with me losing my marbles!  That is what I feel like sometimes in my new job. There are so many people to remember. After 18 years with Spring Branch, I got to know lots of people and finally I learned all of their names. It wasn't only their names that I remember, but the life long relationships that I built.

With these names, I have to remember what these people do and how I will work and collaborate with them. This week, I have had the pleasure of being at an elementary school. I have spent two consecutive days with a great scientist colleague and a energetic and inspiring leader of an elementary school. It was nice having conversations about leadership and what makes a school great. I aso met another principal from an elementary. Our conversation centered on writing. I referenced my work with the great Vivian Pratts at Edgewood Elementary. I thought, "This is starting to feel like home."When it comes down to it, it feels natural because it is all about the relationships that I will build. It is about being around positive, like minded individuals who share my passion for education.

In addition to names and people in leadership, I got to spend some time conversing with the leaders of our students. I had some wonderful conversations with the hardest working people in the bunch. After returning to the classroom last year, I gained an even greater respect for all the work that goes into to teaching. I know the long, long hours we teachers spend making sure that all students learn and are engaged. We teachers spend a lot  of money buying supplies for our students to start the year. The spending doesn't stop there. There are books to buy, notebooks to give away, pretty duct tape to make the notebooks last forever, and colors of pens, pencils, markers, and crayons. Don't forget the tape, scissors,  pocket folders, library pockets, and whatever else floats their boats. We DO WHATEVER IT TAKES for our classroom family. I will miss mine profoundly. But then I think...maybe, just maybe, I will be able to serve these treasures of students, teachers, administrators and teammates in the new place that I call home. I must work extremely hard to help the teachers, coaches, principals.  I must work hard...and to never forget to build relationships and be human. One of my friends always says, It is not the final destination, it's the journey! I must keep this in mind as I move along and find a way out of this name game funk and into the fantastic.  When will I arrive?  It is the journey...but I need to remember...

Vamos a ver lo que pasa-we'll see what happens. I know there will be peaks and valleys. I just need to be patient.  Vamanos!  What's her name? What does he do?  Who do I talk to about? How do you...