Tonight we had our mentor teachers all up to the penthouse for dinner. We had taco salad and sat and talked for hours about this semester and the good times together. I'm really glad they (mostly) all got to come, it was great to meet Dr. A's husband finally. It's one of those feel-good moments when outside of class you get to see the people that have a certain color of personality that you know isn't fully theirs, but the teacher inside of them.
I can't really sleep lately, I just stay up thinking about all the stuff i need to do before tomorrow and all the things that need to get done by SOMEONE before i leave. Considering it's just me out here, guess i'm the one who's gonna do 'em. But really, I'm kicked out of this apt on Thursday so i need to find a place to stay. It's trickier than i thought it would be. Mormon list-serve connection isn't feeding housing openings like it used to. Cross your fingers for me.
My girls are singing in my church on Sunday. I got them to meet me at the metro stop and they'll come open up a special Sacrament meeting that we're having with just music and narration. It'll be really special for me to get to direct one last time. The weight of this new job hasn't taken over yet which i'm greatful for. Just let me make it through Sunday and then we'll deal.
This week i've been able to talk to my students a lot about character. how good character sometimes means that you stand alone. That you have integrity. That you're attracted to others with that same character. That you are who you want to become, nothing stands in the way of that. Good character is someone who's been through trials and let it build them. It's a cool thing to teach music because you get to dive into RELEVANT topics that affect real life. And people actually listen to me when i get off on one of those kicks. They want to hear because they don't hear enough of real life information. I'm coming to believe you have to teach then more social and emotional skills than their parents ever will. Teachers have this awesome responsibility to know their students well enough that they know what they need to hear. And character is what these kids need to know. It's what they are becoming. It's hard work. It's right living.
I put together a video tape, "A day in the life of Ellington." it's priceless to me. If you ever see me, make sure i bring it to show you.
I can't wait to be home. i'm so exausted. Hope my mom lets me sleep some :)