Weeds

I'm not a person who expects to be surrounded by perfection all the time.  I mean, perfection is nice, but it's just not realistic to expect it all the time.  The yard at our house is a perfect example of this: the weeds that pop up in the yard don't bother me a bit.  But the last few days, as I would come and go from the house, I noticed that a rather large green weed was pushing it's way up through a crack in the sidewalk right beside my rose vine.  It bothered me, but I never noticed it at a time when I actually had time to stop and do anything about it.

And it's not at all uncommon for life to occur in very much the same way.

Regular readers of my blog may have noticed that there have been no new posts here since April 15.  For someone who had blogged every day of the year up until that point, a 17-day gap is sort of a big deal.  But my life, like the crack in my sidewalk, has been sprouting troublesome weeds of its own lately.

The weeds started when my most immediate boss at work arranged to take a leave of absence for personal reasons and then "resigned" instead without any warning or good-byes to those of us who worked for her, and with a barely-plausible story to the bigger bosses.  As a result of her departure, the teacher I work with for the majority of the day was given a temporary promotion to fill her vacated spot for the rest of the school year.  A teacher leaving the classroom meant that I got to go on a wild ride of substitute teachers in and out until we have finally found one who can stick around for the rest of the year.....I hope.  Shortly after, we got to live through the 2 weeks each year that are blocked out and rearranged for students across the state to take the FCAT standardized tests.  Additionally, we've gotten several new students into my classes these last few weeks, many of them bringing new and somewhat unpleasant challenges that I get to learn to cope with.  The former boss was also in charge of our school's Beta Club, and that has now become my responsibility as well.

Life away from work has been equally hectic.  There's the ongoing issue of Kaleb's biological father still being incarcerated, and I'm still helping his family as I'm able.  His father (Kaleb's grandfather) came to town to visit for a few days, too.  Kaleb is growing and changing, as well.  Sometimes this is great.....other times, it means more work or new battles for mommy.  Very recently, I was also approached with an opportunity that might allow some of Pensacola's hotel-dwelling homeless to move into a more budget-friendly home renting situation.

As if all that wasn't enough fun, my allergies have been worse this year than they have in the last 5 or 6 years.  You may not be aware, but breathing is actually very important!

With all these things going on, I've been exhausted to say the least.  I've even had trouble sleeping.  I'd been getting out of bed each morning with body aches.  I hadn't even had the desire to read—and that's what was probably the most disturbing part for me.

But in the last couple of days, it has dawned on me that weeds aren't always an ugly nuisance.

The teacher who is, for now, my most immediate boss is very capable of doing the job and doesn't have as many distractions from his personal life affecting his job performance.  The sub I'll be working with for the rest of the year is a perfect match for my students and is a joy to work with.  The FCAT came and went, and the students I worked with were remarkably well behaved.  The "new" is wearing off with the new students and I'm learning the tricks to manage them and their behaviors.  The Beta Club has turned out to be less work than I was afraid it could be, and working with this group of kids means that, at least for the rest of the year, they won't continue to be repeatedly disappointed by the adults who are supposed to be running the group.  The legal troubles with Kaleb's other-DNA may soon be coming to an end.  The visit with his father was nice—Kaleb and I had really missed him since he moved away to Texas.  Kaleb may still be challenging sometimes, but it all stems from his increasing independence, and I have to admit that that is a good sign he's on the right track.  What began as an opportunity to make a few spare bucks by helping low-income families find affordable homes has morphed into an opportunity to take my homeless outreach to a new, higher level and potentially help many many more people.  And after a couple of weeks on a fun cocktail of OTC cold and allergy medications, I think things may finally have gotten under control....I can breathe again.  I can sleep again.  Most of the aches have gone away.

And, as you can see, I'm writing again.

But what of the horrid weeds popping up in the sidewalk cracks?

Well, I discovered today they weren't weeds at all.  They are, instead the result of all the bird seeds that were dropped from the feeders hanging right above.

Indeed, I have discovered that sometimes weeds can be quite lovely after all.

What was that Kaleb kept saying a few weeks ago during the rain showers?  Oh, yes. "Shower April raining makes flowers in May-be."