love on the rocks

I was under the impression that this week would go by super fast. I figured since we were so busy, it would fly by. Ladies and Gents, I was wrong. So very wrong. Yesterday afternoon I was in the admissions office with a group of students. They were pretty wired, and I was pretty quiet. Suddenly I said very loudly "WAIT. It's only WEDNESDAY?" the kids laughed and then asked if I was ready to go home for break. Oh kiddies, you have no idea. I would go home right now if I could, crawl into my huge bed and stay there for days. It's not that I don't love my job and my roommates, because I adore both, but I am beyond ready for a break. I'm sure there will be times over the two weeks I'm home where I get annoyed and frustrated with family, but nothing beats being at home....staying up late chatting with my parents, playing rock band with my brother, eating my dad's famous tuna melts. I'm so excited!

Christmas this year is going to be laid back, and honestly I'm looking forward to that. Too often we get caught up in the commercialized Christmas, and I think taking things a step back will help to remember the true meaning of the season.

Last night we had our big community meeting with our program coordinator and 1/2 of our support couple (Mike). We talked about any issues in the house, what we want to change for January on, etc. It was nice to reflect on how we've been doing and what we need to work on. We closed the meeting by sharing affirmations about each other, which was really nice. I think it was exactly what we all needed, to feel loved and appreciated :) Afterwards we realized that it was the last night the four of us would be together before break, so instead of my usual bedtime of 9:30 pm we stayed up and spent some time together. I love that, when we can just sit back and talk and laugh. I don't know how I got so lucky to live with such amazing people, but I am very thankful.

Another great part of my day yesterday was taking a group of students to Meijer to go shopping for our adopted families. They broke up into teams and were assigned a family to buy clothes/toys for. They had to do it on a budget and a time schedule, and did such an amazing job. I could see in their eyes and their smiles how proud of themselves they were. They showed me each item they bought and explained it, as if I needed to know why a 5 year old would want a Barbie. It was really cute and I am so glad to see my students enthusiastic about this project and giving back to others. Tomorrow I will take a different group of students to actually deliver the gifts to our families, and I am super excited about that. It should be really cool to watch and be a part of.

Well, it's Thursday. I'll have a quiet afternoon because my 8th period study hall is working today. I'm supervising make up Latin tests, but other than that I'm looking forward to spending the afternoon getting stuff done before break.

<3

Listening to "Love on The Rocks"- Sara Bareilles