1. Divorce was the BEST thing that has happened to me in my life thus far. John and I will always remain friends, but the marriage in our twenties should not have happened.
- We were not ready for marriage. We were ready to be great friends. We were ready to travel and have fun together, but we were not prepared for the not so easy part of marriage. We were experts at the "for better" and were not ready to deal with the "for worse." Because of this, we masked our relationship as one big pile of happy. We never dealt with anything else but the happy times, everything else was swept up under the rug and left lingering in the back of our minds. Neither of us had many examples of successful marriages in our lives, so we were winging it. Sometimes, we self destructed because it was easier to do than trying to get over those humps. WE were not ready for marriage.
- I did not love or know myself enough to allow someone else to love me. All of my life I have made decisions based on what other people think, I have lied to myself trying to be true to others. I second guessed every decision I made, I doubted myself, I allowed others to influence me. In essence, I lacked confidence and was insecure. Therefore, I went out of sequence. I tried to find someone to love me before I was ready to love myself.
2. I have changed a lot over the years. I can remember the shy girl that only smiled all of the time. I kept my thoughts to myself and was really introverted. Now, I share a lot more, I express my opinions a lot more, and I am learning to say, "No" a lot more.
3. One of my biggest pet peeves is adults with attitudes. Life happens to all of us. We all have some good days and some bad days. Even the best of our friends are going to piss us off occasionally. Nevertheless, I work with children all day and refuse to tiptoe around an adult that is not talking to me or rolling their eyes or has a problem with me that they choose to sulk about and not address, OR an adult that is just having a life issue in general and wants me to be miserable with them. If the problem involves me, only one of two things can happen....I might apologize if I feel like I am wrong OR I might just not care. Life will go on either way. If the problem does not involve me, as my mother used to say, "Don't invite me to your pity party." (I always hated or didn't understand my mother's sayings but they really make sense now that I am getting older). I am all for venting but geesh you have to get over it after a while.
4. I am a spoiled brat. I think I have been this way all my life. This results from the team of people around me. I have a mother that never judges me, and supports everything I do or have done. When I swatted bugs and made up cheers in the outfield on the softball team, she came to every game. When I all of a sudden wanted to move out of the country, she asked when she could visit. When I got nine hours notice that it was time to move out of the country, she drove 4 hours to make sure she was the one that took me to the airport. In addition to my mother, my friends spoil me. Whether I express it or even actually realize it, I have a great group of friends, both female and male. Some I talk to daily, some I go months or even years without speaking to, but no matter what, they are always there for me.
5. The reason it took me so long to figure out what I wanted to do after college is because I am not really career oriented. I'll take family over career any day. I can't wait to be able to go to games, recitals, rehearsals, school events, whatever with my own child. I spend so much time with other people's children, it makes me really want my own. Being here makes it even worse.
6. I might have a slight case of ADD. I can't focus on anything. This is why I am a great primary teacher. Their attention span is short, and so is mine. By the time they get bored with something, I am bored with it too. This is also why this blog has no direction. Is it about me living here, me teaching here, traveling, or all of the above? Who knows?
7. I used to say I did not like kids but I really do deep, deep, deep down inside. They are funny little beings to me. I tied a scarf of my head one day and a student said, "Hijab (pointing at his head, Kandora (pointing at his body)" and threw his hands up in disgust. I had tied the scarf the way the men here tie their scarves but I had on the scarf and regular clothes. I guess he was confused. The other day when the bell rang for morning assembly a child ran in the classroom and said, "Ms. LaTwya, yela ("let's go" although I am sure I spelled it wrong)" and made a bell noise trying to let me know that I needed to hurry up because the bell had rang. I probably shouldn't laugh at a four year old telling me "Let's go" but it was hilarious to me. It also makes me chuckle that the children run out of the classroom so that they can come back through the door and yell things like "asalam walekum" or "Goot (not a mistake) Morning. How are youuuuuu?" and make the entire class respond. It is such a distraction but they find it hilarious and I do too. I guess it is good that they are practicing their greetings in Arabic and English. Perhaps I should stop them from running out of the class through. They always come back through. Trust, THEY ALWAYS COME BACK. Out of my 23, I average 21 a day. Other classes sit with 15-18 because it is common for these little ones not to show up. But KG1-4 is always present and loud.
Here are some random pics of impromptu field trips, children dressed up for the community helper's theme, and Flag Day. No pics from Taste of Abu Dhabi last weekend because I cracked my phone screen and had to get it fixed during the event....oops.
Oh well, time to finish packing for Sri Lanka. Happy birthday to me!
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