Marilea Dreams: September 2010

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, my beautiful Daughter!

I remember well, the day you were born.

How quickly the years have flown.

I thank God, for you, a precious gift.

I pray God showers blessings and love on you.

XOXO

Love,

Mom

Monday, September 20, 2010

Monday, Monday

Imagine my surprise this morning,

while standing in the hallway at school, when I happened to look down and noticed my right foot. That wouldn't be surprising, if I hadn't noticed that I had on my blue/silver shoe.

I remember distinctly deciding to wear my gold shoes.

It didn't make any sense,

until I looked at my left foot, there it was- my gold shoe. I had been

dressed, for 2 hours, at school for 1 and had no idea I was wearing 2 different shoes! Had I lived only 2 miles away from school, I honestly think I would have left. Living 30 miles, I had to stop and think, would I come back? No. I took a deep breath, quietly, told my teacher friend, to look at my feet. We laughed, until tears ran down my face.

I said a prayer, begging God to help me keep a sense of humor. Went back into my classroom and pretended nothing was out of place. :0)

It was 4th period before a student asked me why I was wearing different shoes.

I wish I had said, " you get the candy bar of the day", but instead, I confessed.

We all laughed, and the world didn't come to an end.

How was YOUR Monday?

XOXO

Theresa

Sunday, September 12, 2010

School Notes

I had the opportunity this past week to travel to Carson-Newman College, in Jefferson City, TN with 6 young women from my school.

They are my Leadership Team.

We had a lot of fun!

I so enjoyed touring the campus and the Family and Consumer Science building. In a time when universities are closing FACS departments, it was with pleasure to see a beautiful new building built for the sole purpose of Family and Consumer Science Studies.

I am proud of my background in Family and Consumer Science Studies , FACS (Home Economics :0).

When given the opportunity to share, I make a point of emphasizing that FACS
is the only program with the family as the emphasis in all areas. The shame comes from ignorance thinking, "it's cooking and sewing".

When asked, " What do you teach?" I always say, "I teach Personal Finance, Communication skills, Child Development, Parenting, Foods and Nutrition.

I also teach, leadership skills, stress management, team building and career success.

Some weeks, I teach consumer advertising, housing, interior design, clothing and textiles.

I prepare lessons that provide the students the opportunities to be creative,

stretch their comfort levels for the working world, and understand who they are.

I chose this program of studies because I wanted the opportunity to be "proactive" instead of "reactive".

Contrary to popular belief, parenting is a skill that can be taught, budgeting a family's income

is vital to the structure of the family unit.

Handling stress is a skill that is necessary for all to learn.

Without these skills, families may find themselves in situations that require outside help.

How much easier would it have been to take classes that focuses on the needs of individuals and family members, instead of having to repair the damage that is caused by ill prepared individuals?

The young people in these photos are why I go to work every day.

They have taken a step to learn how to communicate, work with others, deal with stress, and understand the dynamics of family structure.

On this particular day, the students were divided into teams.
Each team received the same materials, 2 packages of 25 balloons, and a roll of masking tape. They were instructed to build the tallest, free standing tower possible in a time frame of 20 minutes.