I don't think I realized how long it's been since I last wrote! Yikes. The pattern settles in again.
In my defense, things have been bonkers. I had to move my classroom and get it set up, I moved apartments and have had to get all unpacked and settled, school started, parent teacher conferences, my dad had major surgery and was in the hospital for over a month, the election that gives me more stress than anything...the list could go on and on. Life caught up with me and it hasn't slowed down.
I ended up starting my Christmas decorating way early this year. It's one of the things that can help me settle when I'm struggling, and boy have I been struggling. I'm hoping that things are on the verge of settling down and not settling in. Fingers crossed.
My new school is great. I really love it up in St. Anthony, and I really love my school. Obviously, it's not perfect, but it's really great. I have a really good team and fantastic administrators. I feel super supported and I'm finding my footing. My class is settling in and we've hit our stride. We're able to get a lot done and the kids are working hard. I've changed up a lot of the way I do things so that I could meet their needs better. We work super hard Monday through Wednesday, then Thursday mornings are math games. I get out games that reinforce what we've been learning and then we play. I've taught the kids a bunch of games that I used at Kennedy, and they love them! They're all working so hard to be able to play math games on Thursdays. I love it!
One big thing that happened was that on election day, I was driving up to work. It had been snowing all night and it was cold enough to freeze. Once I got to the north Rexburg exit, the roads were icy. I slowed down and continued north. As I got further along, I heard my Grandpa Sonderegger's voice tell me "You stay in this lane. Stay in this lane no matter what." It shook me, but I listened. I am so glad I did. As I got closer to the county line, I was getting near the North Fork bridge. I saw a big black truck driving down into the median, and I thought for a minute that it was a police truck changing direction to head after someone. I thought that until it started spinning and then jumped the barrier and came right at me. I was terrified, but I kept my cool. I know it was because Grandpa was there with me. The truck came so close to hitting me that I could see the tread on the tires. It kicked up a pretty large debris field, and I did get hit by that. Looking back, there is literally only one way that I didn't get hit - God protected me. I should have been smashed. I would have died if I'd been hit. It was that severe. There wasn't a safe spot to pull over, so I called 911 as I continued north. It wasn't until I got to the construction south of St. Anthony that I realized that my windshield was badly cracked. There were little impact craters too, plus a lot of scratched glass. I need to get it replaced.
That experience has had an effect on me for sure. It was so scary. I held it together until I got to school and then I broke. It was so hard to be there that day, but I also knew that if I went home, I'd be home alone with my thoughts all day and that wouldn't have been good. I stuck it out even though it was so hard. I've been trying really hard to reframe my thoughts when I drive past that bridge now. Instead of thinking of it as the place I almost died, I am trying to think of it as the place where my life was saved. I guess it's not my time to go. I'm glad of that. I'm not ready.
That's it, in a nutshell. I'm hanging on for dear life, but I *am* hanging on. This too shall pass.
